The Letters
by DevilRed03
Summary: Sequel to 'The Soldier': Ruby Rose had left behind a legacy that her friends and family have carried on. Phoenix Xiao-Long Belladonna and Rose Schnee-Vasilias grew up together under this legacy, each of them drawing some inspiration to pursue their own dreams in life. However, beneath their childhood bonds grows something more - something deeper. AU, OC-focused, Bumblebee, Iceberg
1. To Atlas, From Patch

A bit of a sequel to my other one shot 'The Soldier' but it's not necessary to read to understand what's going on since it's a loose sequel.

A more in-depth summary:

After giving the ultimate sacrifice to help end the war against a terrorist group known as 'The Grimm', Huntress 683 - Ruby Rose left behind a legacy carried on by her friends and family.

Phoenix Xiao-Long Belladonna, the 22-year-old daughter of Yang and Blake, had decided to honor this legacy by commissioning as an Officer and Fighter Pilot in Vale's Air Division of their military. She entered the service around the same age as Ruby did, at the tender age of 17. It took some time to complete all of her training to become a Fighter Pilot, but it was worth it as Phoenix now looks to the skies in excitement.

Rose Schnee-Vasilias, currently 25 years old and pursuing a path to inherit and carry on the rich legacy and tradition of the Schnee Dust Company. Her drive to work hard and to help out with the company comes from the stories she's heard of the fallen Huntress who gave it all to keep everyone safe. She's determined to show that the name her mother has given her will be carried on in high regard.

The two offsprings had done some considerable amount of growing up together, and now that the two have set about the path of adulthood, they are going to have to confront something that's been boiling beneath the surface of their childhood friendship - The romantic feelings that have been developing through their ever growing bonds with each other.

All Ruby Rose can do from up above is smile fondly at the two as she too recalls what it means to be young, in love, and unsure of what to do.

* * *

"It's been almost 30 years now, huh?" Yang Xiao-Long Belladonna over looked the scenery as the forests on Patch were beginning to turn in color.

 _Thus kindly I scatter. - Summer Rose_

 _July 3005 – January 3038_

Yang smiled fondly as she brushed off the leaves that had decorated the top of the headstone. The stone was becoming slightly worn down with the passing years, the blond looked over the words once more.

The Xiao-Long Belladonna was 54 years of age, but the years had been extremely kind to her as her hair showed no signs of graying just yet. Her face had become sharper in it's features and the years of detective work had introduced her to some of the darker aspects of life as it would some times show when ever she was deep in thought.

"Blake and I are well off Mom. We just finished paying off the house in Vale and now we're officially debt free." Enthusiasm and pride filled Yang's senses, "I feel like I'm starting to get a grip on adult life, you know? What else…" The detective thought about what else to tell Summer. "Oh yeah! We're getting a fresh batch of recruits from 'The Zoo' soon, I'm supposed to be in charge this time around of showing them the ropes. Look out for them Mom, cause they're gonna need it." A devilish smirk.

With a silent prayer she turned her attention to what was next to it – a second head stone.

 _For those I love, I will sacrifice. –Ruby Rose. Huntress 683_

 _May 3033 – October 3056_

Detective Yang Xiao-Long sighed she had done her best to carry on through out the passing years.

"Hey baby sister." A smile that was tender as it was woeful broke through Yang's previous blank expression.

"Phoenix just came back today from her first deployment… granted, it's not nearly as crazy as it was when you were in the service Rubes. And what's even better is that her home station is a lot closer to Vale." A small smile, "Nix just kept saying that they ran a lot of resupply missions – she's definitely my daughter, the cheeky bastard would whine about how she wants some action and to put to use her combat training as a Fighter Pilot and not run over watch missions with her Airship." Yang placed a hand on the headstone that still looked pristine and new despite some of the leaves that had fallen on top of it, a certain heiress insisted on getting the best materials together for the headstone. "I'm sure you could have talked some sense into her."

Yang felt the chilling autumn wind pass through the trees and consequently into her open jacket. She shivered slightly before crossing her arms as she looked up at the changing scenery. "It's almost that time of year again, huh?" Autumn had become one of Yang's least favorite seasons as that same cloudy October sky would always come back around, it was the same sky she looked up to when she heard the news about Ruby.

" _I believe in you sis, you're the best."_

That small voice pierced through her memories as Yang recalled old conversations she had exchanged with her baby sister in the years they spent growing up together.

"Blake wrote another novel, she took a break from the usual stuff of writing about the Faunus Equality Movements and her other fiction works… some crossing that smut line." Yang smiled wickedly at the memory of her leafing through her wife's drafts that covered in detail steamy encounters between the main characters. "But anyway, you'd be happy to hear this one – she wrote her novel detailing the rich history of the Huntsmen. She made her focus on the unit in Vale of course, your unit. I think you would have liked it. She mentioned you, as well as Jaune and Pyrrha… Every year in October the Huntsmen always send a bottle of whiskey – the top shelf kind too. Its really good stuff."

Yang had brought back a bottle or two to her home in Vale now, "Of course, Uncle Qrow has helped himself to it, although he hasn't touched that very first bottle of whiskey that was sent to the house in Patch. Dad's been letting that one sit in his study ever since, it's still unopened."

"Oh yea, Weiss says hello, she's sorry she hasn't been able to fly out – it's been harder for her to sneak away from her responsibilities as CEO of the Schnee Dust Company." Yang fished something out of her pocket.

"She wrote you a letter." Yang chuckled to herself, "It's sweet, she asked me to read it to you – and then to forget all the contents of it right after I do. She still has that adorable side to her that you liked so much."

The letter was unfolded as the detective cleared her throat.

"'Ruby, you dolt.'" Yang howled in laughter, "Wait, there's more." She let out, "I just thought it was hilarious how she starts off with that."

 _September 23, 3085_

 _Ruby, you dolt._

 _I still have your precious 'round metal object' and am waiting for you to come pick up this gaudy thing you call a 'coin'._

 _Rose is doing well – she's 25 and is currently learning the ropes for the company. She's shown a lot of interest in business as well as international relations, Father is very proud of the legacy she will leave behind for this company. Thank Dust she doesn't have her father's flirtatious tenacity, although I will admit she does have the Schnee cunning in her, she closed out a business deal in Mistral that Neptune had been struggling with the past few months. I say that because she's definitely turned quiet a few heads, even some of our partners have prompted their sons to her in hopes that they could marry into the Schnee named_

 _It's amazing how fast my little white rose has grown up, if only you could see her._

 _Stay safe…_

 _-Weiss_

Yang finished recounting the letter as she looked it over again, "It looks like she was going to write a bit more after that 'stay safe' bit, but I imagine it's something that she'd rather tell you in person." The letter was tucked back into her coat pocket.

"I hope you're keeping Mom company, tell her I said hey and that I miss her." Lavender eyes looked over both of the headstones as she said her goodbyes once more. "I'm going to Atlas tomorrow to visit Weiss, I'll be back during the holidays and I'll be sure to bring along Nix and Blake too."

Another gust of wind blew threw the chilling air which made Yang's wild blond mane to dance about in the wind. The detective smiled as she caught sight of some rose petals that floated about before landing on the headstones.

"See you later Rubes."

* * *

The deep orange hues that intertwined with the dashed of purple had become a favorite sight for the Lynx-type Faunus. There was something about autumn sunsets that no other season could come close to replicating.

"Nix, are you ready?" Golden eyes looked over her daughter who was upstairs in her childhood bedroom peaking out the window, Blake Xiao-Lang Belladonna smiled fondly at her offspring.

Blake had aged wonderfully as well, though there were some slight wrinkles starting to come through in her 52 years of living. Her luscious black locks that her wife loved running her hands through were beginning to gray a bit, although this didn't really bother her as much. It seemed as if it was only yesterday when they had graduated from Beacon University and she moved in with Yang.

"Yea Mom, I am." Phoenix stood to her full height, which was a bit taller than Blake; she definitely inherited her height from Yang. Dark blond hair that seemed to be on fire in the hue of the sunset was kept short at a pixie cut was a bit curly like Yang's. She did inherit Blake's sharp amber gaze as her eyes scanned the room for the jacket she wanted to wear out while dressed in comfortable jeans. Phoenix usually kept a calm and cool composure – she worked well under pressure and her combat training as a Fighter Pilot for the top of the line military Airships had honed her senses to have the ability to process extreme amounts of information in a short amount of time while being able to make tactically sound decision that would keep her and her airship alive. However, her face did give off a rogue like impression, and her wild looking short mane didn't help that fact either.

22-year-old First Lieutenant Phoenix X.L. Belladonna (she had chosen to initialize Yang's last name since it wouldn't all fit on her name tags for her uniforms) had gotten into a few scrapes while in training because of her looks. Some would misinterpret it as her being rebellious or snarky. Nix was quick to put them into their place as she was no slouch when it came to quick fights or brawls, Yang had made sure of that since she taught her how to fight when Nix was a kid. Albeit, Blake would also drive home the point to always think things through before rushing in.

Phoenix threw on the dark grey leather jacket as she followed her Mom downstairs since they were going to meet up with Yang at the airship docks and take a red eye over to Atlas where they were to have a reunion with her parents other friends.

Nix's lynx ears twitched as she felt gentle hands on her collar, "M-Mom."

"Settle down, your collar was folded in. I'm not going to have my child walk around like a fool." Blake berated as she giggled at her daughter's embarrassment.

"I… I'm not a little girl any more." Nix pouted as she gripped the two bags she carried, one belonging to her and the other belonging to Blake.

"You'll always be my little girl." The writer planted a quick kiss on Nix's cheek, "I'm just happy you're back safely."

"I told you guys, it's really not that bad down range in the Vacuo desert anymore. All we're really doing is standing by for any emergency mission that's like a natural disaster or doing air patrols to make sure any roving thieves band don't get too close to the villages." Nix sighed, the war with the Grimm terrorist group that ended over 20 years ago ushered in an era of peace – or at least an era of no war since all it seemed like now a days was that the military was used as more of an extended police force to deploy to and patrol remote areas in order to protect those villages without a police force from small pockets of thieves or other evil-doers.

But Nix wasn't really complaining, she had yet to know the loss of life for a comrade. Once she was 17 and decided to commission into the military as an officer and pilot did Yang sit her down and tell her of some of the experiences her Aunt Ruby had gone through before making that final sacrifice.

Phoenix Xiao-Long Belladonna was born 7 years after and never had the opportunity to meet her Aunt.

Nix thought to another person, this person was given her Aunt's namesake 4 years after her death.

'Rose…' Nix thought to herself as her tired amber eyes glanced down to the hand made dark red bracelet made out of paracord. In return for this gift, Nix had given Rose something considered sacred to almost all pilots in Vale's military Air Division – their first badge of silver wings given to them upon completion of pilot training. Every pilot wore this badge on the left side of their uniform above the nametag while in their dress blues. The significance behind the first badge of silver wings was that a senior pilot who you looked up to gave them to you during an age old 'Pinning On' Ceremony.

That ceremony included that senior pilot 'pinning' those silver wings directly on to your chest. Nix slightly winced at the process, but tradition was tradition. She now sported two small scars on the left side of her chest from the puncture marks those wings left behind.

If anyone had found out that she had given away her silver wings, Nix would never hear the end of it. For now, she had simply bought another set from the military clothing store while Rose held on to those wings. Of course, Nix made sure to tell the white Rose the importance behind those wings.

'Rose…' Nix looked over the bracelet, 'It's been almost 7 months, but I'm back now.'

Nix was indeed back, and excited to see her best friend, someone that she had practically grown up with. Rose even tried to get her to apply to Atlas University for a degree, but Nix ultimately decided to join the military through the Officer Commissioning Program and ultimately try to get a pilot slot through Vale's Air Division.

And she was glad she did it, there was nothing comparable to the flying she learned to do and the flying she had done. The adrenaline rush as she would feel the agile fighter airship break the sound barrier, or the excitement she would get when she would do mock airship fights during training exercises.

But there was something missing, especially after leaving home and after not seeing Rose for the longest time since they were both busy with their lives. Something Nix couldn't quite put to words… or rather accept.

'She couldn't possibly… she's in a different position than I am.' Nix put to rest her thoughts as she decided to let it be.

She was already content with having the opportunity to use this week of leave spending time with her best friend.

* * *

The pieces of the shattered moon still did an excellent job of shining its midnight rays through the window of Rose Schnee-Vasilias' room. The updated room had forgone some mementos from her childhood as they were packed into boxes and moved into storage in the Manor's basement.

Long silky strands of white hair were splayed out across the pillows on the soft bed Rose's body laid out on. The ends became naturally tinted in soft hues of sky blue, a trait inherited from her father Neptune. Her eyes matched her mother's in their snowy color that often held a sharp gaze, especially when conducting business. Rose's figure remained lithe through out her late teens and early twenties, Rose firmly believed in keeping up a healthy life style.

She turned over on her side as she looked over the item she had been turning over constantly the past few days.

Underneath the soft glow of the moonlight was the badge of silver wings.

Her mother told her that Nix had made it back to Vale, where her unit's home station was based out of, earlier that week. Her parents had invited Nix over with the rest of her family to come hang out for a few days to celebrate Nix's return from her first deployment.

Rose was just glad that her best friend was safe.

But there were some second thoughts about that, always creeping in the back of her head. All Rose had done about it ever since they started surfacing was just push them aside. She knew that her Grandfather especially wished for her to marry someone successful that would help expand the business, like what her Mother did when she married Father.

'I'm 25 years old and currently not in a relationship. Despite the fact that Father and Mother got married at this age, they're not really pushing me to get married. At least, not the way Grandfather is.' Rose thumbed at the silver badge in hand as she went through her late night thoughts. 'Maybe it is time to settle down, I know that I've got more suitors than I know what to deal with from our business partners. Perhaps it's time to actually give them a chance.'

A slight frown, Rose knew that whoever she chose she'd end up spending the rest of her life with them.

* * *

" _For better or worse, till death do we part." Weiss finished the vow as a beaming smile was shot from Neptune. Weiss was stunning in her gown as her newly wedded husband was absolutely dashing in his traditional black and white tux._

The scroll the video played on paused as the camera panned out to the crowd, there was a particular individual there who stood next to Yang and Blake.

Ruby Rose looked sharp as ever in her dress blues and Weiss was glad to have seen the sight at least once in her lifetime. The Huntsmen Special Forces Sergeant wore a huge smile as she clapped her hands at the newly wedded couple.

Weiss closed the video with a small smile.

"Hey Snow Angel," A smooth voice called out to her followed by a pair of hands gently rubbing her shoulders.

The Schnee Dust Company President leaned back into the embrace of her husband of 30 years, "Hey." Weiss smiled fondly as she peered up into those ocean eyes of Neptune Vasilias. The man was clad in comfortable pajama pants and a shirt; his hair was slightly damp, as he had just finished taking a shower in time for bed.

His hair was beginning to gray at the sides and Neptune had definitely filled out with a more defined jaw and cheek line. Like Weiss, he remained vigilant in working out every day and kept his body healthy. He always detested the idea of getting that 'dad bod'.

The two leaned in for a quick kiss.

"You planning on getting some sleep soon?" Neptune questioned as he sat on the heavy wooden desk in the Study. He had his own study right across the way for the assignments and projects he was responsible for.

"In a bit." Weiss sighed, "I'm a little apprehensive because I think I misplaced my necklace some where, I spent a good amount of time looking for it."

A slight chuckle, "You mean this one?" Neptune held up worn leather throng that was strung to a case holder for that round metal object. "Your secretary gave it to me before I left work today." Gently he brushed aside the long locks that were left down and put the necklace over his wife, before moving her hair back in place did he plant a kiss on the Snow Angel's neck. "You should keep better track of that, it's not something we can replace."

"Thank you, Neptune." Weiss placed a quick kiss on her husband's cheek, she frowned slightly as she looked down at the coin in hand, "I'm sorry… it's been so long and I'm acting childish over a cheap piece of metal-"

"It's not cheap." Neptune interjected, "Despite all that happened, I cared for Ruby too. I've told you this before; I married you while full well knowing that she's a part of you. And I also fell in love the you that was in love with her. I hope you take that in some kind of twisted romantic way." A dumb grin was plastered on his face.

Weiss giggled at the comment before placing a hand, "Don't you have a way with words?"

"You love me for it." A charming smile.

Weiss leaned up and planted a soft kiss on his lips; "I do love you for it."

"I'm glad, even after all these years we can still act like children." Neptune joked, "I was worried I was going to grow up into a boring old man."

"You'll never grow up with that flirtatious attitude of yours." A cheeky grin as Weiss recalled some of the stunts Neptune would pull at the company. Like cancelling a 1 o'clock meeting so that they could do some…. mid-day stretching. "I just thank Dust that Rose isn't like you."

"She can be, I just think she needs to meet that right one." Neptune smiled fondly as he thought of his daughter, "Or be more honest with her self." A chuckle as Neptune thought of a certain Faunus.

"What do you mean honest?" Weiss raised a brow, slightly perplexed at her husband's musing.

Neptune shot an incredulous look, "You don't see it?" A mischievous smirk broke out.

"See what? What in all of Remnant are you referring to?" Weiss loathed the shit-eating grin on her husband's face and he knew it, which is why he would keep doing it from time to time.

"My dearest Snowflake, I'll let you figure it out on your own." Neptune planted a final kiss on top of his wife's head and proceeded to walk out of the study.

"It has something to do with our daughter you imbecile! Tell me!" Weiss called back in an irritated tone.

"I love it when you're feisty." Neptune quipped back before closing the door.

"That… dolt." Weiss blushed as she thought to the only other person she's called a dolt.

Her hand went to a small drawer at the bottom of her desk; a small metal box with a latch was taken out and placed on the desk.

Absent mindedly she ran a hand down the soft scar on her cheek, she too was beginning to show wrinkles with the passing of time, but she always prided herself in the fact that she looked younger than she actually was.

'Usually I'm not this nostalgic.' Weiss mused as she ran her fingers over the worn lid with the Vale's Huntsmen trademark engraved on it. Yang had given it to her after Ruby's passing, saying that it was only right for Weiss to hold on to these. When she first opened them she cried uncontrollably, and after some time she decided to put hers in there as well.

Now the box contained all the letters that Ruby and Weiss have sent to each other.

The letter on top had been opened and closed many times, Weiss found a lot of comfort in this one, especially on nights when she thought of the fallen Huntsmen.

"It's probably because Yang's coming over and Phoenix is back from her first deployment. I guess it does run in the family, military service for your country." Weiss let out with a sigh as her hands picked up that top letter.

 _October 4, 3056_

 _My Dearest Weiss,_

 _I'm leaving for a mission, or rather I left for a mission._

 _I left this letter with a trusted confidant before I went out on our objective – I think you'll hear about it in the news, especially if we're successful. And I have no doubts what so ever that we were successful._

 _I volunteered for this one – we all volunteered for this one._

 _Do you remember how you would always tell me to 'Keep safe'? I try, but I also have to remind you that I would always quote 'For those I love, I will sacrifice'._

 _For you, I will sacrifice._

 _For my family, I will sacrifice._

 _For my Team I will sacrifice._

 _I remember the promise I made to you, to some how let you know if anything happened that you'd be one of the first to find out. I remember a lot of promises I made to you._

 _Just know that I will always be watching over you, that I'll always be in that soft place in your heart that you have reserved for just me. I've never forgotten all of our times together, and I hope that you won't forget me as you go on with your life. I have no doubt you're in good hands with Neptune by your side. Tell him to see things through properly._

 _On your wedding day, I thought you were the most beautiful one of them all. You always have been, and you always will be._

 _Weiss Schnee-Vasilias, I love you._

 _Forever yours,_

 _Ruby Rose_

"I haven't forgotten you, I don't think I ever will." Weiss neatly folded back up the letter and placed it back into metal box. Quietly, she slipped out of her study and treaded softly to her bed where a sleeping husband was waiting for her.

* * *

"Ma!" Nix scolded as she watched the blond dart out of the cab and towards the front door of Schnee Manor, "It's still early! Call them on their Scrolls first!" Nix berated as her Mom merely laughed softly at the sight before gracefully getting out of the cab unlike her married counter-part.

Blake squinted slightly as the early morning rays peaked over Schnee Manor, she looked back as she watched her off-spring grab the bags from the back of the cab.

The mother shrugged as she left the younger one to it.

"Mom!" Nix whined as she realized she'd have to carry all 3 bags up to the front door.

"Don't they teach you to stay in shape in the military Nix?" Blake pointed out as she followed her wife up the steps.

Nix groaned outwardly as she closed the trunk of the cab and proceeded to pay the driver for taking them from the airship docks to this side of town.

"I swear, whenever we go anywhere now they always insist on not acting their age." Nix growled as she lugged the bags up the steps.

Yang checked the time on her scroll, it read 7:15 AM, she smiled wickedly as she placed the item back in her pocket.

Brashly, a string of doorbelling and hard banging on the door echoed throughout the manor.

"I can only guess who that is." Neptune grumbled as the bundle next to him rolled away while taking all the blankets from him.

"Go fetch them, Dear." Weiss let out sleepily as she curled up in the sheets.

"Do I look like a dog?" The blue haired man raised a brow.

"Fetch." Weiss waved her hand to dismiss him; Neptune glared, but sighed as he let it go.

"Coming!" Neptune called from the top of the Manor's steps.

"Neptune! Look at your hair! You're turning into a silver fox like Blakey." Yang pointed at the sides of his head as Neptune shook his head; he caught sight of Blake who was doing the same thing.

"Long time no see," Blake greeted as she stepped through to the foyer.

"Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Neptune stepped aside to let everyone in. He caught sight of Nix coming up with the bags and almost went to go help her. Nix was young and she's in the military, she can handle it.

"Thanks for the help everyone." Nix sighed as she closed the door and set the bags aside, she say down on the bench in the foyer as her parents talked animatedly with their friend.

"Weiss will come down in a bit, you guys know how she likes her sleep." Neptune began walking towards the kitchen, "We dismiss the staff during the weekends so that we can have the place to ourselves, try and be normal people." A small joke.

"I'm just glad all that Lien you guys have been making doesn't go to your pretty boy head of yours." Yang followed her friend as she rubbed her stomach, "You should make those waffles you used to make when we were all in Beacon."

"That'll get so messy! Especially with you here…" Neptune's voice trailed off as they went into the kitchen.

Nix took a moment to take in the sight of the manor, which always blew her away. High vaulted ceilings and the grand staircase that led to the second floor of the manor. There was a left and right wing; she remembered that the left wing was where the family's rooms were while the right wing was usually accommodated for guests.

'I don't know how Ma is always so casual when coming over here, a lot of this stuff is probably more expensive than our whole house.' Nix mused as she arched her neck to look up at the chandelier.

Nix's sensitive ears caught soft footsteps; she figured it was Aunt Weiss (they weren't really related, but Yang and Blake insisted to call Weiss and Neptune, Aunt and Uncle since they were basically like family, having gone to school together and keeping in touch after all those years.)

"Uncle Neptune took everyone to the kitchen for breakfast," Nix lowered her gaze from the ceiling to the top of the staircase, "Oh."

Hair like snow with ends that seemed to be kissed by the very sky Nix flew in was tousled slightly from a good night's sleep. Glossed over tired white orbs looked into Nix's golden ones before blinking a few times to a much sharper gaze. The lithe form broke out into a smile as Nix approached the base of the staircase and casually put a hand on the railing. Rose spotted the red paracord bracelet on her wrist; slowly she revealed badge of silver wings in her hand which caught Nix's eyes.

"Phoenix." Rose spoke softly as she returned a steady gaze to the now seasoned Fighter Pilot before her.

"Rose." Phoenix returned a tender smile as she looked up at the older woman before her. "I'm back."

"Welcome back." In a flash, Rose raced down the steps as Nix easily caught her in a strong embrace that lifted the Schnee Princess off the ground.

It was silent as the two friends clutched at each other, a silent tear fell to the ground as Rose held onto Phoenix as long as she could before the Fighter Pilot put her back on the ground.

"Hey now, you're gonna make me cry too." Nix nearly choked out in a whisper as she held back her tears.

"Okay." Rose made a move to wipe away her tears, but Nix beat her to it as a thumb swiped at the teardrop.

"Let's go eat, your Dad does make the best waffles. And Ma is notorious for not waiting for everyone to get their share." A light laugh as Rose nodded her head and closely followed Nix to the kitchen.

A moment after the two disappeared into the kitchen did the final member of the Schnee-Vasilias family step out from the hallway at the top of the grand staircase.

Weiss smiled devilishly as she finally caught on to what her husband was hinting at last night.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the read.

Cheers,  
DevylRed


	2. The Heiress and The Pilot

Billowing white clouds could be seen overhead, but you were able to still pick out the blue sky it covered up if one were to gaze up at it. The wind was calm and relatively light, which was a blessing since in Atlas the changing of seasons from summer to autumn experienced a sharper temperature drop when compared to Vale. From the backyard patio of Schnee Manor you can see the majestic mountains that made up the landscape in all of Atlas. These mountains were always capped in a cloak of snow all year round, the winter being the most prevalent as all you could make out were completely white jagged peaks against the winter grey backdrop.

Golden eyes watched as a 2-ship of fighter airships flew around the city in the distance. Phoenix stayed focused on the two fighters because these were supposed to the brand new top of the line airships for Atlas' Air Division. Atlas always had the best and top of the line airships in inventory, usually the other kingdoms would get the older models of fighters sold to them once Atlas fielded the newer ones first.

"What type of airship was that?" Rose questioned as she sipped her midday tea, she turned her attention to the space heater that was powered by dust to turn up the temperature a little bit more to fight off the chill. She wore white jeans with dark blue ankle high boots; underneath the dark blue double-breasted coat she wore a white long sleeve. And the most important part of Rose's outfit was pinned to the left lapel on her jacket. The silver wings shone brilliantly whenever the sun's rays caught it. Despite the fact that this was casual for the Schnee heiress, she still gave up an aura that was almost royalty in nature.

Phoenix kept a steady eye on the horizon as she observed the airships more closely, "Definitely a fighter-type, looks a lot sleeker than ours too…" Rose smiled to herself as she watched how absorbed into the task her childhood friend was in identifying airships. She always had a penchant for the flying machines when they were growing up, and the hobby became a passion once Nix started her training to be a Fighter Pilot, "I think those are the brand new Type-FVI that I read about, they were deemed flight worthy 6 months ago and Atlas was working on getting them combat mission ready."

"I don't understand why we need fighter airships, there hasn't been a major air battle since… well, since the 80-year war." Rose hummed as she sipped her tea again; she had a teasing look in her eye as the Schnee Heiress was well aware of Nix's feelings on the subject.

"To establish air dominance and protect our guys on the ground, having even just two fighters in the airspace can change the whole dynamic on the ground. And you know that's false." Nix finally broke her gaze from the fighters to continue her point, "We had a couple of air-to-air skirmishes 30 years ago during the war with the Grimm terrorists, they overran two bases that had about 50 airships… They were shitty airships, but they caused a lot of damage for us during the early stages of the war. Plus it didn't help that Vacuo isn't as… civilized as the rest of the kingdom."

Rose sighed as she thought of the war torn country, "Their ample dust resources, abundance of precious metal deposits, and essentially environmental disaster that ate away at their luscious jungle over the past 150 years has set the country up for failure. They don't have a formal government in place – unless you count what Shade Academy is doing as a government… so it's easy for others to run in and take away all those resources. With the way things are going now, we will bleed Vacuo dry of all their resources."

"I don't understand how you think you can turn that around." Nix took a seat across from her friend, "What you want to do with setting up a second SDC headquarters there is a great idea, don't get me wrong – if there's a big conglomerate like that in country to jump start Vacuo's economy, we could probably see a lot of economic turn around in the next decade… But all the push back and upsets you'll cause with establishing that second headquarters will piss off the already shrinking competition in the Dust market."

"Not to mention that since there's no formal government in place, it'll be harder to even try to get a foothold in the first place. As well as the stigma with all the smaller and private corporations doing a lot of unsanctioned mining and heavy industry." Rose furrowed her brows as she thought over her potential plans for Vacuo; it was going to be a lot of work. She didn't notice her companion get up and place a hand on her shoulder.

"Just know that whatever you do, I'll be there to back you up." Nix smiled down, "Wanna go for a walk?"

Rose smiled as she looked her companion over for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day alone. Nix had lost a little more of the baby fat around her face and judging from the way the Fighter Pilot caught her so easily into her arms that morning, Rose figured she got a lot stronger too. Nix wore a pair of sneakers with jeans and a black long sleeve shirt was underneath the dark grey leather jacket she wore.

"I think a walk around the gardens would be lovely." Rose responded as she began keeping a slow pace next to the Faunus. Curiously, she looked up at Nix's ears. She remembered back when they were younger where Nix would let her touch and even pet those lynx ears of hers. Rose had an urge to do so again, but she knew it was unbecoming of her, especially now that she was 25 years old.

"I've known you for so long that I've got a second sense for when you want to touch my ears." Nix smirked as she noticed the light blush on the SDC Princess' face.

"How did you know?" Rose thought she was being discreet.

"You have a bad habit of staring at them really silently." A smirk as Nix stopped where they were, "Go ahead and get it out of your system."

Rose Schnee-Vasilias stood an inch taller than Nix, but she was wearing heels at the time, with one hand she slowly reached out and caressed the ear. They felt like velvet, but just more alive. She was gentle in her touch as she remembered that Nix could be particularly ticklish there if she wasn't careful. She had irritated the Faunus a few times in the past when she would tickle her ears, Nix wouldn't let her anywhere near her precious Faunus ears for a while after that.

"I've always thought this bit of extra fur at the top here was cute, I like how sharp they look." She played with that bit of extra fur at the tip of Nix's ears.

"Yea… Mom says that my type of ears are a little bit of a rarity. She thinks Ma's genes might have something to do with it, because she was fully expecting me to be a cat Faunus like she is." Her ears shared the same dark blond color as her hair, but the outline of them, especially at the tip of the ears, was black. Nix took a moment to look over Rose's distracted face as she was mesmerized by them.

The alabaster skin was flawless throughout, not a single blemish was visible on Rose's face. Then there was the slight curve at the corner of her mouth that would always appear when she was delightfully distracted or enamored by something.

"Thanks… I know that was pretty childish of me." Rose trailed her hand away from the ears; her left arm found it's way around Nix's right arm.

Nix shrugged as she took note of Rose's arm intertwined with hers, it's been a while since they've walked like this. "It's fine, you were always so fascinated by them, especially when we were kids. I know it's a habit that won't go away."

"But they're just so soft, I can't help myself, it feels really good." Rose sighed as she looked around the path they were taking. The path they took was well known for its array of winter flowers that would bloom through the snow. This is Rose's favorite path to take during that time, but for now it was decorated in mostly green colors and was in neat condition like the rest of the grounds. She took sight of Nix scanning the around the area, trying to look for some color to look at.

"There's a flower bed off to the right, if you were looking for those." Rose pointed out, Nix complied as the two continued their walk in that direction. "So… what was the deployment like?" The question had been burning on her mind for a while now.

Nix smiled and looked up at the sky, "We went to the Vacuo dessert of course, Base Jericho. The military has taken more of an enforcer role now; recently we're looking into breaking up the illegal mining and heavy industry plants. It's still dangerous in certain places out there; each country's Huntsmen are still working hard and endangering their lives. Some of the sectors have hired private mercenaries to protect their plants or mining operations, that's where the Huntsmen come in mostly now. Our regular infantry usually does patrols around the remote villages to fight off thieves or anyone else of the like."

"What did you do most of the time?" Rose asked as they approached the flower beds that were carefully tended to by the grounds master. Flowers that were blue and white were carefully arranged in a very tasteful pattern that was befitting for the Schnee Manor.

A chuckle, "I had some days where I had absolutely nothing to do, so I'd spend hours at the gym or watch movies. But on the days where I was working, I was hard at it. I did a lot of patrol missions over known mining sites that were used illegally to make sure people didn't come back. I did a lot of resupply missions to the bigger and more established villages where our infantry was forward deployed." The Fighter Pilot conducted a quick glance around, Rose caught on to the sudden silence as she looked to her friend. "This is kind of classified, so don't go around talking about it." A devious smirk, "But I got in on a Huntsmen mission that needed some Close Air Support during a big raid they did on a heavy industry plant. I dropped them off, even got to shoot some rockets from my airship, and extracted them out of there."

"No way." Rose's eyes went wide, "But I thought you just flew in that Type-FIV, isn't that just a single seat?"

Nix nodded, "I flew in a different airship for that mission, an older one – the Armored-TIII that had been outfitted with some weapons. I actually volunteered for that mission too." Golden eyes looked off into the distance as First Lieutenant X.L. Belladonna started to recall the night operation.

A frown graced Rose's lips as she came to a realization, "…You got shot at, didn't you?"

"I was in the air Rose." Nix responded quickly.

"They have anti-airship weapons, don't they? Those accounted for a couple shoot downs during the 10-year Grimm War." Rose pressed again.

A sigh escaped Nix's lips, "They did fire three anti-airship rockets at me, the TIII is an armored type so the first one got my airship a little bit, but no significant damage. The other two rockets I managed to avoid because I flew defensively." Nix placed both hands on top of Rose's shoulders to look at her eye to eye. "Do not tell anyone about this, especially my parents… or yours. I know that what happened with Aunt Ruby is still a little bit of a sore spot, even though it's been so long."

"Of course I won't, but still Nix…." Rose sighed as she threw her arms around Nix's torso, "If anything happened to you, I wouldn't know what to do." Rose could smell the traces of the soap that Nix used as well as something very fresh and wild in its scent, she thought she could smell sunflowers and roses.

Nix wrapped her arms around Rose, rubbing her back as the Faunus could feel her friend nuzzle into the crook of her neck. It was silent for a moment, but Nix's sensitive hearing could pick up the unsteady breathing coming from the older woman, and her shoulder was beginning to feel moist through her jacket. But the 22-year old didn't stop her, just did her best to be there for her.

Words wanted to escape from Nix's mouth, but none of them seemed to be the right ones was Nix swallowed them back and bit the inside of her cheek.

But for Rose, as she cried she realized one thing that scared her the most – If Phoenix should die, Rose would be absolutely crushed.

"…When's your next deployment?" Rose stepped back as she tried to hide the tears on her face.

Nix gently grabbed her wrists to get a better look at Rose's face, with a soft touch Nix used her thumb to wipe away the tears, "Not for a while, my unit isn't on tap for a deployment for at least a year."

"Good." Rose smiled at the comforting thought.

"I'm sorry to make you cry." Nix frowned as she took in Rose's red eyes.

"It's okay, you can take me out to my favorite cupcake place in town later." Rose hummed as she walked away to begin the stroll back to the house.

"H-Hey! Isn't that place pretty pricey though?!" Nix recalled it being at least 6 lien for a single cupcake, and she knew Rose wasn't going to eat _just one_.

"Good thing your paycheck was tax free while you were deployed." Rose stuck her tongue out as she continued to walk away.

Nix sighed exasperatedly as she ran to catch up with her childhood friend.

* * *

"I can't believe you brought those." Blake deadpanned, "Or wait, I can believe you brought those." Her cat ears twitched in a slight annoyance as she took a look around the study that belonged to Weiss. The bookcase contained books written about business concepts and models that were authored by some well-known and some notorious business moguls. In the middle of the carpet was the Schnee Dust Company logo in a pristine white; Blake and Yang took care not to step on it as to preserve the cleanliness of it.

Blake's attention turned to the sprawling heavy oak desk. She took note of the neat piles of folders, the monitor that was currently turned off, and a few pictures that were hung over the desk. The obvious ones were the wedding pictures with Neptune and everyone, Blake smiled as she caught sight of Ruby in her uniform in the group photo, there was one of Rose and Nix as toddlers playing together in Vale. A pristine photo of Rose in the Atlas University uniform and then there was Blake's favorite – a group photo of Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang. This photo was taken before Ruby's first deployment, when Weiss first met the kid.

'Kid isn't a good word, Ruby had made a very grown-up decision when she enlisted in the military.' Blake mused as she recalled the extensive research she had done for her book.

Turning her attention to her eccentric wife and the pair of binoculars she brought with her, Blake pulled them away.

"Hey!" Yang called out as she attempted to swipe at them, Blake kept them away, "I was trying to see if anything else happened, Rose is Neptune's daughter and I just wanted to make sure she didn't do anything funny to poor Nix."

"Yang, you really shouldn't be 'staking out' your own daughter." Blake berated, "And besides, Rose has more of Weiss' tendencies and she's a really sweet and smart girl."

"I'm sure Neptune wouldn't mind it one bit if I'm pulling some look out duty on the two." Yang pouted as she faced her wife.

Blake sighed as she sat down on the comfortable chair that Weiss used at her desk, she sat the binoculars on the table and shot a warning glare to Yang before leaning back, "If you or Neptune meddle around with those two, I swear that I won't hold back in kicking your ass."

Yang smirked as she smoothly made a move to the chair her wife sat on, she placed both arms on either side of the chair to trap the Faunus their, "You think you can kick my ass babe?" A challenging grin as Yang's face was a scant inch from Blake's.

Blake sat up tall in the chair and placed a firm grip on Yang's behind, her other hand found a place on Yang's hip, her thumb pressing dangerously close to Yang's sex, "It helps that your ass is also your weak spot." Blake growled back.

"Kitty's got claws." Yang stayed cool, despite the slightly flushed gaze she had developed as she thought of the last time Blake had taken the lead instead of her self.

"Behave on this trip," Blake let go as she sat back in the chair, Yang was a bit disappointed as she was ready to make some room on Weiss' desk, "I still remember the last time you tried to play cupid for those two, I'm just thankful that they think it was a coincidence." Another glare.

"As if they've never seen each other naked before!" Yang argued back.

"They were just toddlers taking baths together back then!" Blake spat back, "Just leave those two be, they need to take their own time to figure things out for themselves." She sighed as she stood up from the chair and stepped closer to her wife, "Just like how we needed time to figure out our feelings for each other."

"That's right, huh?" Yang let out weakly as she recalled their days together at Beacon University, "I wasn't sure if you felt anything towards me at all, especially with that cool attitude of yours."

"Didn't help that you were a complete womanizer – of both sexes, mind you. Your reputation definitely preceded you." Blake scoffed as she felt those two strong arms envelope her in an embrace.

"You dated Sun for a minute," A long sigh, "That's when I realized that I was head over heels for you babe, I'm just glad that he ended up being a passing thing." Yang smiled down at her wife.

"You could have done it a lot better though, kissing me out of nowhere literally hours after we had broken up." Blake glared at her wife.

Yang shrugged, "It still worked, now I get to grow even older with you. But I have to admit that you're starting to become grayer faster than me." Yang laughed.

"I don't want to hear it from someone who literally cried when she got her first wrinkle." Blake smiled at her wife's antics, "It's been a hell of a journey though with everything that's happened. But most of all, I'm so glad to have started a family with you. I never would have guessed that we'd have someone like Phoenix as our daughter. How did we manage to raise someone like her?"

"It's cause she had a great mom like you Kitten." Yang kissed Blake softly, "I would have preferred if she became a detective like me, but I guess Fighter Pilot sounds pretty cool too."

"That's what you get for telling her all those stories about Ruby's missions, I'm not sure where the fascination with airships started though." Blake thought back, "Do you think it's because we took so many trips up to Atlas? I remember how surprisingly calm Nix was on her first airship ride."

"Probably, but I do know our daughter is absolutely in love with flying now."

Blake cleared her throat as she took a glance at the binoculars, "So Yang…"

The blond caught on to where this was going as a sly grin was on her face, "Yes, Kitten?" Her tone matched the look on her face.

Blake scowled, but sighed and let it go, "What did you see?"

"What happened to no meddling?" Yang stepped away from her wife and retrieved her binoculars.

"We're not meddling, but you obviously saw something happen judging by that stupid look on your face." Blake pressed once more.

Yang sat back on desk, "Only if you'll indulge me right here and now." A suggestive look.

Blake rolled her eyes, "Weiss and Neptune could come out of his study any minute now, they're just wrapping up a conference call and then we're all going into town." She walked over to Yang and proceeded to push her off the desk, "And this is Weiss' study, she'd be absolutely pissed if we got busy in here."

"All the more reason to do it." Yang gleefully retorted as she picked herself off the ground.

Blake rolled her eyes once more as she looked down at the desk, this time she caught sight of something awfully familiar.

"Yang… isn't this the thing you gave to Weiss a while back?" Blake picked up the metal box and ran a finger across the top of the lid to feel the ridges the Huntsmen symbol had on it.

"It is, I haven't seen it since I've given it to her." Yang looked over the box, "They had all the letters that Weiss sent to Ruby, I figured Ice Queen would have wanted to keep them." She picked it up from Blake's grip, "It feels heavier than I remember." Curiosity got the better of her and the detective opened up the lid. There laid the letter addressed to Weiss Schnee-Vasilias – it was dated back to October 4, 3056. Yang stayed uncharacteristically silent.

"What's wrong?" Blake took a look inside and saw the handwriting on the opened envelope – it was Ruby's handwriting.

The room remained silent as Yang closed the lid and placed the box back on top of the desk where Blake found it, "I guess Weiss held on to Ruby's letters too." A gear was turning in Yang's head as she thought about why this box was out in the open, "I wasn't the only one missing Ruby when I took that last minute trip to visit Patch."

Blake furrowed her brows as she recognized that look on Yang's face. It was a look that she had developed from staying up late at night with a case file strewn about the living room floor. A look that had ingrained itself into the detective's very being after 2 years into her career. The writer remembered that case, it started out with hunting down a known drug dealer… but a series of events turned it into a desperate car chase around town that Yang ended up being a part of since this was her guy she was supposed apprehend.

A family on their way to the movies was crossing the street in the downtown area of Vale. The suspect was easily going 70 miles per hour, the father pushed his two kids out of the way, the mother was side swiped and had a broken arm. The father however… went through the suspect's windshield and that ultimately stopped the chase. Yang blamed herself for that one since they had the suspect cornered in an apartment complex. She headed the arrest, but didn't check to see if there was a fire escape near his room because she thought it was going to be a routine arrest, like dozens she had done before.

As a result of her arrogance, a family is without a father.

"What are you thinking about love?" Blake asked in a gentle tone as she rubbed detective's shoulder.

A shrug, "I just really miss her," A low tone, "I'm not usually like this, I swear…"

Blake smiled as she pieced everything together for her wife whose usually sharp witted, "It's Nix, love. I know how apprehensive you where when Nix first deployed, especially to the very base that Ruby used to go to." She wrapped her arms around her wife lovingly; she could feel the detective relax into her embrace. "Phoenix does have a lot of similar qualities to Ruby, doesn't she?"

"It makes me proud, Rubes was definitely a cut above the rest… but it worries me, I… I just…" A long sigh as Yang struggled to stay steady, to make sure tears didn't fall, "I just don't want to go to another funeral, I was beyond relieved when Nix came back in one piece. I don't know Kitten, I'm glad she's decided to do something noble like serve her country… but these deployments… I… I'm…"

Blake hugged her tighter, "It's okay, I already know." A gentle kiss was placed on the back of the detective's head. Yang turned around to return the embrace as she took a deep breath to steady herself. "I love you." The words slipped out easily.

"I love you too, Kitten." Yang smiled as she nuzzled her nose into Blake's hair, lavender filled her senses as the two stood there.

Faint footsteps could be heard, Blake stepped away as she turned to see if Weiss and Neptune had finished.

"Mom, is Aunt Weiss and Uncle Neptune done yet?" Nix questioned, Rose peered into the study as well. Yang waved to the Schnee-Vasilias heiress with a smile and motioned the two to come in.

"Not yet, should be any minute now though, they did say it was going to be at least an hour." Blake checked the time and saw that it had been 50 minutes since the two disappeared in Neptune's study.

"What have you guys been up to?" Nix questioned as she took a look around Weiss' study, it's the first time she had been in this room.

Yang shifted her body, Nix caught sight of a metal box, but said nothing of it. "Nothing much, just been hanging out here and checking out Weiss' study, usually she'd have yelled my ear off by now if she'd caught me in here."

"Mother doesn't really mind when people are in here, it's just you in particular Aunt Yang – she has trust issues with you and her stuff." Rose joked as Nix broke out into a huge grin.

"Can't really argue with that one Ma." Nix chuckled as she took a walk around the study, "Aunt Weiss sure is smart, I didn't know she got her Master's from Atlas." Nix eyed the wall of diplomas, her gaze turned to the pictures that hung on the wall and caught sight of herself and Rose as toddlers.

The sound of the door opening caught Nix's attention as she spotted Weiss and Neptune filing out of the study.

"Oh no, did you mess with anything?" Weiss spotted Yang at her desk, "I swear if you messed with anything Yang… this isn't like at Beacon where you can turn my desk into a hurricane and walk away with no regrets."

"No worries, I made sure to keep a good eye on her." Blake reassured as she made way for the door, "Let's go already, I'm ready for this wine tasting that you've been teasing me about."

"They've got a few bottles that pair nicely with fish too." Neptune chimed in as he began to walk down the hallway. "I already called for a driver to come around and get us, considering that we are going out with Yang."

"What's the good of drinking good wine if you can't drink a lot of it?" Yang retorted as she caught up with her wife.

Nix stayed still has she finally caught sight of the metal box that Yang tried to keep out of sight, it held the Vale's Huntsmen symbol on it. She narrowed her eyes slightly, but kept it to herself as she spun to head out the door.

Rose caught sight of the curious look on Nix's face and caught sight of the box as well; quickly she turned to look at her Mother to see if she noticed Nix lingering. Rose had tried to get into that box before when she was younger, and her Mother became very cross over it. Thankfully Weiss didn't as she had already begun her walk down the hall.

"What's in there?" The Faunus questioned as she motioned for Rose to walk beside her, "Ma tried to hide it, so it's definitely got my attention."

"I'm not sure, I was curious about it too when I was little, although Mother got mad at me when I tried looking for it. It's been a long time since then though, that's probably why it's not as well hidden as before." Rose shrugged.

"I see…" A well-known look developed on Nix's face, Rose smiled at the sight.

"You want to look in that box, don't you?" Rose smiled coyly.

Nix returned it, "Of course I do." Golden eyes lit up as she returned the sly smile.

* * *

"Ah yes," An elderly man dressed in a prim white suit sat across from an old friend, the two were enjoying retirement at an upscale club house, "My dear granddaughter is still single, she's been busy learning the tricks of the trade. I hope she finds someone like my son-in-law Neptune, there's a sharp man for you. His business sense is top class and it shows in Rose's pedigree since she closed out the Mistral deal in just a month while Neptune had been working it for half a year." A proud smile graced the retired Schnee patron's lips.

"I'm not sure if there's another quick witted lad like Neptune out there, but I must say that my grandson is also a bachelor, albeit a few years younger than Rose, he just graduated from Atlas University this past summer." This man wore a darker twill suit as he took another puff out of his pipe.

"Steel, wasn't it?" Jacques Schnee recalled as he sipped his scotch, "I remember going to his 22nd birthday earlier this year. He's a handsome man if I recall."

"Yes, he's in town for the next few days visiting, he should be leaving the day after tomorrow." The other retired business mogul mentioned.

"Perhaps you and your Grandson should come over to Weiss' Manor, I'll give my daughter a call and we can all have lunch together." Jacques pulled out his scroll as he looked for his daughter's number.

"That'd be delightful Jacques! To think, if you're granddaughter and my grandson were to marry… a wonderful venture, don't you think?"

* * *

"You really know how to take what's yours." Nix sighed as she had spent nearly 30 lien on half a dozen cupcakes, "Are you going to eat all of those at once?"

"Maybe." Rose sung out happily as they walked down the streets of downtown Atlas, the night air was chilly, but it would be nothing compared to the winter bite that was soon to come.

Nix smiled as Rose stuck close to her side, in her other hand she carried the box of confectionary treats. The two had broken off from their rather tipsy parents, not to say that Nix and Rose didn't partake in a bottle of wine or two themselves. "Ma really knows how to keep the drinks going."

"Too bad they can't 'rage all night'." Rose giggled at Yang's antics.

A sigh escaped the Faunus' lips as she looked up at the towering buildings that glowed in a light blue hue. Nix felt as if she were walking through the future with all of Atlas' modern technology simply decorating the streets of the city.

"I don't want to think about my parents 'raging the night away'," Nix smirked at the thought, "I bet they were pretty wild in school, makes me wonder what Aunt Weiss was like too – seeing how prim and proper she is now."

"Are you saying that you think my mother was lame in school?" Rose took offense as she prided herself in knowing how to put down a keg or two, something she thought to be hereditary from over hearing tales her father would tell to his friends.

Nix shrugged, "I just don't really get that vibe from Aunt Weiss, plus with the stories I heard from Ma, I don't recall many of them saying Aunt Weiss was the type to party." A sly smile, "Unless you've hear other wise."

"Father says that Mother knew her way around wine and craft beer very well, he admitted to Mother drinking him under the table a few times." Rose huffed.

"I don't know about that, Aunt Weiss looked pretty blasted after that first bottle." Nix recalled, "But Ma wasn't better off either." A chuckle.

Rose unexpectedly turned around, "All this talk about raging, let's say we go out tomorrow night." A sly grin, "It's been a long time since we've actually partied together, I think the last time was while I was still a freshman at Atlas. You came over for the winter break."

"If you say so, are we going to see whose has better genetics?" A challenging look was shot towards Rose's way.

"If I remember correctly, I had to help sneak you back into the manor since you were only 16 at the time. You were completely trashed that night." The Schnee Princess recalled.

"As if you were better off that night, I remember having to tell the cab driver to took over… and then we paid him double to keep his mouth shut since you're so high profile." Nix shook her head, "That was all my money right there since a certain someone left their wallet at home."

"I paid you back," Rose shrugged it off, "It was a good night, wasn't it?"

'Yea it was." Nix looked down before peaking up at the clear night sky above, "I'd love to go flying around Atlas at night." She wondered what the night sky looked like.

"Why don't you?" Rose questioned, "I'd like to go flying too, if I recall…" She put a finger to her lips as if the gesture would help her remember it better, "You did promise you'd take me flying and 'not just any kind of flying in some regular old airship, but some real flying by a top of the line Fighter Pilot.'" Rose mimicked Nix with an arrogant voice.

"I did say that, didn't I?" Nix mused, "I think I remember there being some smaller Model-T airships you could rent. A little bit on the pricey side, but I think it'll be worth it."

"So your treat then?" Rose raised a brow, "When do you want to go?"

"I'll cover the flying, if you'll cover dinner." Nix winked as they continued along the street, she looked up at the big screens that littered the sides of the streets. Some showed newscasts, others showed infomercials, and a good amount had maps of the city with an interactive screen to navigate your way around the city or look for certain shops. "Let me check the weather for the next time there's a clear sky at night, I'm excited to see what the city lights would like from up above."

Rose giggled at the childlike amusement coming from her Faunus friend, "I'll get dinner then." She leaned into her friend, but missed a step and stumbled forward.

A firm arm wrapped around the Schnee Princess' waist, "I got you," Nix chuckled, "The wine still?" She teased.

"A little bit, we did drink about 2 bottles between the two of us." Rose lightly smacked Nix in the stomach as she leaned a little closer.

'She's really warm,' The Schnee Princess thought to herself pleasantly as they continued their aimless stroll.

"I missed you, a lot." Nix let out in a low voice, "It's been almost a whole year since the last time we saw each other."

"I missed you too," Rose smiled as she looked down at the ground, "It doesn't help that I'm busy too, I spent nearly 3 months in Mistral with Father. I wanted to see you off when you're unit left, but I had some stuff going on at the company."

"I understand," A small grin, "We're not as young as before where missed get-togethers are a huge event," Nix looked up at the shattered moon, "We've been the best of friends for as long as I can remember, I don't see myself growing apart from you…"

"What's wrong?" Rose asked as she noticed her companion grow quiet.

"It's nothing." A smile graced the Faunus' lips to try to reassure her friend, "I think I'm getting tired, should we call a cab to get back?"

"Yeah, it is getting pretty late." Rose pulled away to take her phone out of her pocket.

The Fighter Pilot looked the Heiress up and down, 'You're absolutely beautiful; whoever marries you will be an extremely lucky person. I only hope that they'll be good to you.' The thought that Nix tried to push back earlier resurfaced, a light sigh escaped her lips, 'I'm scared of losing you.'

* * *

I've been having fun fleshing out Phoenix and Rose a bit more.

As always, hope you guys enjoyed the read.

Cheers,  
DevilRed


	3. Young, Unsure, and Won't Admit It

Light blue eyes stared back into the mirror, fixated on the task at hand of taming her long locks into a ponytail. For fun, she tied it to the side, the tip of her tail looked as if it were dipped in a paint of sky. Her skin was a reflection of her father, but not nearly as tan as he was.

"Ready yet?" Nix peered in, dressed in running sweats, a shirt, and a loose sweater. She crossed her arms as she caught sight of the side ponytail "Cute, have you shown this to your Mother before?"

Rose giggled as she took it down and put it back up in a regular ponytail, "I have a few times, Father was probably the most surprised. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, I got a good laugh out of it." She was dressed in leggings and a workout hoodie, "Ready for this run?"

"I've been ready." Nix teased as the two headed out the door for a run around the grounds of the Manor.

Down the hall, the sound of the two shuffling down the stairs echoed through out the corridor.

"Mngh…" Another white haired resident of Schnee Manor rolled over in her sleep, "How are they up so early?"

"It's already 10:30…." Neptune answered in a groggy voice, "How much wine did we go through last night?" He clutched at his head, "This is definitely not us in college anymore."

"Honestly Dear, I lost count." Weiss sighed out as she was in an internal battle of staying in bed, or getting up at that moment.

A knock at the door was heard, Weiss shot a pleading look to the graying blue haired man. Neptune narrowed his dark blue eyes, "…I'm hurting too."

"Please…" His wife pleaded once more.

"Fine…" Neptune whined as he somewhat struggled to get out of bed.

At the door stood Blake, who wasn't better off as her amber eyes squinted shut as the sunlight shone through behind her. Neptune found himself doing the same as he caught the late morning rays full on.

A guttural grunt was heard as he brought his hand up to block out the light before him.

"Sorry… But could we have some aspirin?" Blake hugged herself as she sighed, it had taken a lot in her to make the trip from the other wing to here, "I could use it, Yang especially… I haven't seen her this hung over in a while."

"Yeah… we do." Pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed deeply, "Alright, I'll do it. I'll cook us a hangover cure."

"I love you, Dear." Weiss mumbled from beneath the sheets.

"Oh no," Neptune berated, "You're coming down too, best way to get over a hang over is to move around."

"…No." The white haired bundle curled into a ball, "By Dust, I swear I'll-"

She didn't finish her sentence as Neptune grabbed hold of the sheet and tugged it off of her. Before a long string of curses and insults could erupt from the CEO's mouth, Neptune already moved to pick up Weiss bridal style. With ease, he made his way out the door and began the trek to the kitchen down stairs.

"I hate you." Her voice was full of conviction as Blake walked beside the two.

"I'll go get Yang, if I tell her there will be food, she will find the motivation to get out of bed." The Faunus stalked off to go coax her wife out of bed.

"I still can't believe they're going for a run, of all things." Weiss let out exasperatedly, she had taken some medicine and moved about the kitchen to help out her husband as he made some bacon and omelets for everyone.

Neptune flipped the egg; he took a sip of water from a glass he had fixed for himself when he first got down. Already he was feeling better than he when he woken up, "It shouldn't really be a surprise, Rose takes after the both of us in the fitness department and Nix is pretty well disciplined. She carries herself pretty well." He mused as he placed the made omelet on to a serving plate.

"Thanks for the help, babe." A quick peck on Weiss' cheek took the form of his gratuity.

"Hmm… I suppose I had to do something since a certain someone dragged me out of bed." She leaned into him as she continued her task of washing and putting away the dishes.

The chime of the doorbell could be heard echoing throughout the Manor.

"Did Rose forget her key?" Neptune raised a brow.

"Probably, I'll go get it." She touched the arm of her husband before continuing her way to the foyer. "Your Father made some breakfast, hurry up before Aunt Yang comes down." Weiss smiled to herself as she opened up the door.

In place was not her white rose daughter, but rather someone else. "F-Father!" Weiss exclaimed, she clutched at her nightgown as if to magically transform herself into a more proper look than her hung over form.

"Weiss, my dear." Jacques scrunched his face at the sight, "I sent you a message last night saying I was coming over."

"Is something the matter?" Weiss recognized the man as James Labelle – retired CEO of the very company that produces the interface used in Scrolls.

"It appears there was a miscommunication, or perhaps you've forgotten?" Jacques raised a brow in confusion, "You texted me back saying that it was okay."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, she vaguely recalled getting a text from her Father the night prior and the hasty response to say it was okay.

"My apologies, we were out at the winery in downtown last night… As you can see I'm in no shape to host you or your friends right now Father." A sheepish grin.

"Surely it doesn't have to be you to entertain us, dearest. Where is my granddaughter?" Jacques bellowed as his voice echoed through out the foyer of the Manor.

A sound could be heard coming from the top of the grand staircase, a cross-look developed on his face as he caught sight of his daughter's childhood friends.

"I did not know you had company over." Jacques narrowed his eyes at the sight of Yang and Blake, "Is this why you acted so brashly last night? To forget about an appointment you made with your own Father?"

Weiss grew a stern look, the hang over quickly became a thing of the past as she stood to her Father, "No Father, they are our friends. We're celebrating Phoenix's return from her first deployment."

The Schnee patriarch huffed lightly, "Ah, I see. The Faunus came back in one piece." Lilac eyes burned at the comment, but her level headed better half held her in place.

"Yang… no, this isn't something you should jump into." Blake's tone remained steady as a firm grip was held onto her wife.

"Father." A commanding tone was used, her eyes hard as ice.

Yang stood tall in her clothes from the night before as she recognized the escalating situation before her. It was no secret that Jacques Schnee held the Xiao-Long Belladonna family in contempt, some of it was due to one of Blake's books highlighting the discrimination and maltreatment of Faunus' in today's world. It had gained traction and sparked movements for equality throughout Remnant. But most of Jacques' contempt came from Yang – for her brash words during a holiday meal together in this very Manor. Rose was very young at the time and didn't notice the degrading remarks made towards Faunus, but she did perk up when her Grandfather mentioned a certain Huntress' name. Yang nearly stabbed the turkey knife through Jacques when the man insulted Ruby Rose.

"Grandfather!" Said daughter appeared, now grown up and sweaty as she bounded up the steps. Jacques lit up as Rose was enveloped into his embrace, Weiss' foul mood began to melt, but the sight of James and his own grandson brought the frosty chill back in full swing.

A young man with brown hair and eyes looked over the Heiress pleasantly. Nix's stare quickly got his attention as an unspoken warning had him turn his gaze away from the curves that Rose's leggings clung to.

Nix shook her head as she pieced together this was going to be another one of Jacques' schemes to pawn his own granddaughter off for the good of the company. She ran a hand through her matted hair; bits of it tousled everywhere.

Jacques let go of his precious blood, he smiled at her as Rose motioned for her _friend_ to come up the steps. "Grandfather, you remember Phoenix?"

"Sir, I'm glad to see you again. Rose mentioned that you went to Mistral recently, did you have a pleasant trip?" Nix's tone was extremely courteous, Weiss cringed inwardly at the polite front the young woman had put up – it was no secret that her Father did not view the Faunus' in a favorable light, much less Blake – the author who dragged his name through dirt. Blake's admirable book sparked a movement throughout all of Remnant, a movement that led to him stepping down from the mantle of the Schnee Dust Company.

Not to say that Weiss had not done a splendid job of carrying on the company, Jacques had to admit that his daughter had taken the Schnee name and brought from something of distaste to something of high regard.

"Yes, I remember Phoenix." A steady tone from the Patriarch, "Mistral was pleasant as always." He turned to Rose once more, golden eyes narrowed and bit the inside of her cheek, "I was hoping to introduce you to a dear friend of mine, James. His grandson Steel is in town and-"

"Grandfather, as you can see we're hosting Mother and Father's friends-"

"I'm sure they won't mind, it's your first time meeting James and Steel." Jacques made a gesture to the two behind him.

"Father, can we talk?" Weiss interjected, "James, you and Steel may come in. Please make yourself comfortable in the family room. Father – my study."

Jacques clenched his jaw as he to his daughter. "Of course."

Rose loved her grandfather dearly; in her youth the older Schnee had spoiled her nearly rotten. The Patriarch's stone face would always melt at the sight of her, showing her a rare sight of his gentle and careful ways.

Rose was no fool, she was bright, sharp, and observant, but she loved the Schnee Patriarch because he was family.

A blur of blond moved past her and into the manor, Rose watched as Nix was quick to bound up the stairs and disappear into the guest wing of the manor.

She caught the stone expression on the Faunus' face; it said nothing but gave way to everything that was going on in her mind.

And it tore at her.

* * *

Weiss walked into the study in light jeans and a white long sleeve, her hair up in a more presentable manner than it was when she opened the door to her Father.

"Why are they here?" Jacques questioned harshly as he stood at the window.

"Do not use that tone when you talk about them." The door was shut curtly, her brows furrowed as deep wrinkles showed, "It was my carelessness that let you come here, I'm sorry for that – but at the same time they have done nothing wrong. Blake and Yang are my best friends, they're family to me."

"And what about me? You don't invite me over any more, are you saying that Faunus family is now more important?"

"This is why!" Weiss refused to back down, "How many time are we going to go through this?" She crossed her arms in defiance, "Yang and Blake have been there for me, and with that our children practically grew up together-"

"Now I know where some of Rose's rebellious tendencies come from." The Patriarch sighed, "She's 25 Weiss, the same age you were when you and Neptune married. It's high time she-"

"Stop pretending you have my daughter's best interest at heart." She snapped, "Rose is not a business venture for the company!"

"She is my granddaughter and I want her to live a life worthy of her pedigree!" Jacques argued back.

Weiss grunted in frustration, "This is why Winter left…" She referred to the eldest Schnee sibling running off and commissioning into the military ranks of Atlas as an officer, she rose to high in ranks as she left her mark as a commanding General before retiring.

"You will not speak of that." The elderly, yet towering man's voice was laced with poison at the mention of his eldest near abandonment of the family legacy.

"No Father…. I was hoping that with Rose you would become more understanding, but I see now that was a fool's hope." Weiss narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Jacques raised a brow, almost threateningly.

"I don't want you around here, not anymore." Her voice was stern, full of conviction, as she looked her Father in the eyes, "I'm sorry for what happened when I took over the company it was messy and I regretted the way it happened, but it was necessary." She recalled the somewhat hostile take over.

"So you'll ban me from seeing my own granddaughter now?" Jacques stepped to Weiss, "How dare you humiliate me once again, your own Father." It wasn't the first time he had such things to his youngest daughter. "Do you not appreciate what I-"

"Jacques." Neptune appeared, clad still in the shirt he slept in but had changed out of pajama pants and into a pair of jeans, "I think it's for the best if you and your friends leave."

"Neptune, I'm afraid I have to argue with that. Perhaps you will understand the worth in Steel as a potential suitor for Rose." Jacques flipped his attention to his son-in-law. "Talk some sense into your wife, it'll be for the best – for Rose, she'll be happy with Steel, his family is well off."

Weiss seethed and was about to retaliate, but a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder as Neptune stood next to her.

"You can't decide her happiness Jacques, only she can decide that." Neptune reasoned.

Jacques smiled, "At least give the lad a chance and let him get to know her, you'll never know." A glint in his eyes as he held Neptune's gaze, "Rose may even fancy him more than that Faunus, like Weiss did you over that _Huntress_." A light laugh as Jacques mused at his own joke.

"Jacques." Neptune was stern, "Don't say that." The grip on Weiss' shoulder tightened, the CEO looked to her husband and saw something boiling beneath her husband's visage despite how calm he appeared.

"It was only the truth, now look at you both now, I couldn't be more proud of what you both have done for the company." Jacques stated with his chest puffed out.

"Get out." Fury dripped from his voice, as if the seas of his namesake began to churn wildly.

"What do you mean?"

The storm brewed into a full-blown hurricane, rage like Weiss had never seen before from her other wise calm and steady husband of nearly 30 years. Never had she seen him burst out in rage… or jealousy.

"I've put up with you and your attitude towards Yang and Blake, I understand – you were brought up in a different time, and the world changes…" Neptune clenched his jaw, "But to disrespect Ruby, let alone Phoenix, but Ruby," An incredulous look encompassed his face as he looked out the window, "Weiss loved her, whether you like it or not, she loved her. And I thought she was incredible, she was amazing, and she deserves only the utmost respect. Ruby is a fucking hero. "

Weiss brought a hand to her mouth at her husband's words, "Neptune…" Her voice small, her eyes hot with tears that threatened to spill.

"I won't have you disrespect Blake and Yang any more Jacques, the only reason why I've tolerated it so far is because Rose clearly loves you, and we're supposed to be a family for Dust's sake." He breathed in deeply, his chest heaved as he ran a hand through his graying hair, "But you can't seem to comprehend that Jacques, Blake and Yang are family, " He stood up to Jacques in defiance, "I consider them to be family more so than you, sir." The years he had spent trying to fit his mold, to accept him to and try to strengthen the bond between the Schnee patriarch and his daughter – the years he spent swirled away before him, but he had no remorse for it.

"I won't have this-" The elderly Schnee began

"Neither will I." Neptune stood tall before him, "Leave."

"To think that you would let Rose have a Faunus of all Dust forsaken-"

"If Rose would have Phoenix, then I would rest easy at night knowing that she had chosen the best – and not some spoiled brat of one of your old business associates." His remark was blunt.

Jacques Schnee, retired CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, slammed the door to the study on his way out.

* * *

"I'm sorry Aunt Weiss said that Jacques isn't allowed her anymore," Nix found a perch at the desk in Rose's room as she sat on her bed.

Rose sighed, "I'm not mad at Mother… I understand why she did it, but I still… I just… I don't know."

"You don't like the situation," Nix found the words for her, "I know how much you care for him, it's just that… he just grew up differently." Was the best way Nix could put it.

"But at the same time, how he acts towards you and your family-"

"Rose, it's fine." Phoenix smiled gently towards her friend, "It wouldn't be the first time, and it probably won't be the last."

"The fact that you even say that…" She sighed, "It really is a _shitty_ situation."

Nix smiled at the new vocabulary word that without a doubt came from the Fighter Pilot herself, "It's not a permanent thing, Aunt Weiss is just upset… she's stubborn, but forgiving. After all," A cheeky grin, "She put's up with Ma."

Rose smiled, "I guess you have a point there." The Faunus could see how it didn't quiet reach her eyes, but she knew that the older girl was trying her best. "Live and let be… Such is life." She sighed as she took note of her Scroll that vibrated.

"Something interesting?" Nix noticed how she perked up in her mood and a light blush decorated her face. The Fighter Pilot jumped at the chance to take her friend's mind off the fight that had taken place between her own family members.

The Heiress shook her head as she typed out a response, "Not really."

"Liar." Nix smirked, she knew that look since the first time Rose developed a crush on a fellow classmate at her high school. "What's his name?" She was cool as she teased her friend.

"I really can't hide too much from you…" She smiled sheepishly as Nix gave her a knowing look, "I met him a few months ago during a cocktail party for the company. He's two years older than me and is a banker, I asked him yesterday night if he was in town and was available. Of course I mentioned that some of our other mutual friends would be showing up at Lounge Juniper as well, so that it wouldn't be too weird."

Rose went on and explained the details of meeting Lie Ren the 27 year-old banker from Atlas. A certain light flickered in her eyes as she described the gentleman to her.

Phoenix stayed by her and listened intently to her childhood friend go on about the banker, Weiss and Neptune didn't quiet know about the man just yet as Rose kept him as a strict acquaintance.

"How come you haven't gone out on a date with him just yet?" Nix questioned as she had remained in her spot by Rose's desk.

Rose sighed, "I've just been… telling myself that I'm too busy for a relationship lately. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm a nun and haven't fooled around – but you already know that." A mischievous glint could be spotted in the daughter of Neptune.

"Don't I fucking know," Nix shook her head as she recalled some of the escapades that Rose had excitedly recounted to her through out there years of growing up together. "It's not like I'm any better, I am Ma's daughter."

"Aunt Blake would have your tongue if she heard you admit that out loud." Rose joked, "Well, I'm 25 Nix, and I think it's time I really do start giving some people a chance." Nix looked down at the floor at the mention of chances, "I don't want to be alone forever."

"I can understand that." The Fighter Pilot smiled reassuringly, "For me… I'll stick to flying." Phoenix looked out the window at the slightly overcast weather, "I don't know if I'll meet someone like how Mom is to Ma, or Uncle Neptune to Aunt Weiss. I don't understand how they make it look easy when it comes to falling in love with the right one." Amber eyes looked into ice blue ones, the Heiress had a soft look on her face. Nix brushed it off as she ran a hand through her hair, "I don't think you'll be alone forever, you'll always have me Rose." She didn't bother to look at her childhood friend as she spoke the words more towards the window.

"You'll always have me too, Nix."

The Faunus turned her back to Rose as she appeared interested in the overcast sky above. But in reality, Nix didn't want her to see the somber look she had been holding back since the mention of Lie Ren.

She took a deep breath and put back up the indifferent face she had on before.

She didn't want Rose to catch on that she was jealous.

* * *

Coco Adele, high-end designer and a woman of 28 years held out the drink for the Faunus. Nix thanked her as she turned her attention to Coco's best friend and partner in the fashion industry, Velvet Scarlatina, whom was also a Faunus.

"So you two are just in Atlas to set up a new branch company then?" Phoenix's tone could be heard clearly. The group of Rose's socialite friends had reserved a VIP section that over looked the dance floor with it's floor-to-ceiling windows. They were thick too as it did an excellent job of keeping the noise down, only a dull baseline could be faintly heard if all were quiet.

Velvet nodded, "Just for 2 months and then we're headed back to Vale to work at the head quarters there." Phoenix nearly melted when she first heard Velvet speak with that languid accent of hers, "Rose says that you serve in Vale's military as an Officer, what do you do?" Coco nodded her head as she listened in on the conversation as well.

"I'm a Fighter Pilot, although nothing like the movies in terms of action, but the flying is… well it's something else. Some times I feel like I'm just in a world of my own when it's just me and my airship." Nix's eyes lit up as she recalled the last time she was in a cockpit, which was a little over a week ago, but it seemed like ages to her now.

Coco laughed a bit, "I've met a couple of Fighter Pilots in my time, and do you know what they all have in common?" A teasing glance was shot towards said pilot.

Nix sipped her drink as she decided to bite, she knew where this was going, "And what's that?"

"They're cocky, which makes it all the more fun to knock them down a couple pegs." She crossed her legs in her tan one shoulder cocktail dress, Nix kept her gaze trained on Coco's eyes as she did But the Faunus still caught sight of the way her dress' length hiked up a bit.

Nix finished off what was either her fourth or fifth drink before chuckling a bit, "You can have at it with me all you want then." A wink came from Nix that caused the older woman to laugh.

"You're a delight, it's a shame Rose hasn't brought you around sooner." Coco mused, she caught sight of Velvet looking the kid up and down. Phoenix wore dark jeans and clean grey suede shoes with a white long-sleeved V-neck, which was completed with a form fitting stylish grey blazer. If she had to sum up the kid, it would be smart-casual which fitted in perfectly with the dress attire for Lounge Jupiter. The fashion designer also took not of how the material of Nix's arms would ripple with every movement. She observed Velvet as the rabbit-Faunus traced her eyes to Nix's short blond mane, which was styled in a more dapper manner for the night scene and finally the Lynx ears, which began to sag backwards in a relaxed manner with every drink that the Fighter Pilot threw back.

Coco tapped Velvet on the shoulder while Nix was distracted with another conversation sparked up by Yatsuhashi Daichi, a close friend of theirs.

"Isn't that considered robbing the cradle a bit?" Coco teased as Velvet snapped out of her slight stupor.

"I-I don't know what you mean." Velvet looked away as she found the hem of her gold color dress more interesting.

"Oh Vel, you under estimate the depth of our friendship." Coco lightly blew in the long ears of her friend, the Scarlatina nearly yelped in surprised as Coco giggled lightly at her antics.

"Yeah… but it doesn't mean I stand a chance." Velvet sighed, "Do you see the way Rose looks at Nix?"

"Oh I saw – _everyone_ saw, well except for the most important person of course." The rather mature and experience fashion designed looked towards the youngest person in the room as she talked animatedly with Yatsuhashi.

The evening so far had been fun, and the fun was only to continue as they were getting ready to make a move on the dance floor, which had warmed up considerably since they're arrival nearly two hours ago.

Phoenix glanced over at Rose as she chatted up a certain man. Lie Ren certainly lived up to the description of an astute gentleman. Even with a couple of drinks in his system he had yet to make any obvious passes towards her childhood friend. She took a breath as she turned her attention back to the group. Fox Alistar, a notorious playboy – as Coco described him with mirth in her eyes, was telling a story about something that Nix didn't exactly care for.

The Fighter Pilot did enjoy their company; she was having a fun time seeing how the better half of society lived. The fact that she was even sitting in a VIP lounge in a very upscale club would make any of her friends in the military jealous, but it wasn't quiet her cup of tea. What was Nix's speed was a good group of people getting a little rowdy at bar somewhere in downtown that they had managed to stumble into after polishing off a cheap handle of rum. But Nix still enjoyed herself as she looked over Velvet Scarlatina.

It was no secret to Nix that the other Faunus had been shooting her eyes since they all settled in at the beginning of the evening.

"I think they're getting ready to dance." Ren mused as he looked over his group of friends.

Rose looked over to where Nix was settled, right next to Coco and Velvet. At first she was concerned that her friend would be in a bit of trouble, but from that rather infamous smile that was very reminiscent of Yang Xiao-Long, she could see that Nix could more than handle herself.

"Would you like to dance then?" Rose smiled a little shyly, she made her first bold move of the evening as she placed a hand over Ren's. A flirtatious look of her own that matched the one Nix currently wore could be seen.

But it was short lived as she noticed the troubled look on Ren's face. "I'm going to have to pass." The banker smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry if I mistaken you…" He took away his hand, "I actually started dating someone…"

"O-Oh, n-no… it's not a problem." Rose huffed, a bright red flush developed on her face as she struggled with the words, "I-I didn't know you had… or was dating." She looked away.

Ren chuckled, "It's fairly recent, but I grew up with her and we finally just came to this conclusion after being friends for nearly 20 years now." A gentle look, "I thought you just wanted to hang out tonight, really. I remember when we met at that cocktail party, you were really friendly, but that was about it."

Rose quickly downed her drink, "It was my mistake, I… I was just feeling a little brave with the alcohol, if I had known you weren't single I obviously wouldn't have… well you know." Never had the Heiress made a mistake like this or been as embarrassed as she is now.

"It's fine, really. I think you'll like Nora." Ren tried to reassure as he noticed how Rose was quickly becoming uncomfortable.

"Is she coming tonight?" Rose tried to change the subject, but the flushed look on her face would not disappear.

Ren nodded, "She's running a little late, she's actually from Vale too and runs her family business down there. I help her out with the financial aspect of things." The atmosphere was quickly diffusing, but the embarrassment still lingered as Rose couldn't seem to recover.

"Rose, you wanna come along?" Nix appeared behind where she sat, during their conversation they had failed to notice the rest of the group disappear to the dance floor. Only Nix had hung back to get them.

"Of course!" Rose exclaimed as she quickly got up.

Ren waved the two off, "I'll be up here waiting for Nora, she should be here any minute now. We'll try to find you guys on the dance floor." He sat back with a casual look, as if nothing had transpired at all.

"Thank you…" Rose huffed as they made their way out of the lounge and towards the stairs that would bring them to the dance floor. The music was starting to pick up as they weren't inside those sound proof barriers any more.

"It's okay, I'm just glad Coco and them were already out the room when you started to put the moves on banker boy there." Nix chuckled, "You're really bad at doing your homework."

"Just shut up and get me another drink Extra Large Belladonna." Rose quipped as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

The Lieutenant laughed at the use of a rather unsavory nickname she had picked up since joining the military. Since she chose to spell out her name as 'X.L. Belladonna' some smart asses had to give their two cents about it and it caught on for a bit. The former boxer was quick to put a stop to said nickname, but ever since she told the story to Rose the Heiress would use it whenever annoyed by her childhood friend.

Nix complied as she headed to the bar, the special wristband on her left hand caught the bartender's eyes real quick as she was served in no time. Two shots of tequila was poured out as the Faunus grabbed the drinks without having to pay, they had a tab going and Rose insisted that Nix not worry about such 'trivial things' and to just 'don't think, drink', which Nix was more than happy to comply to.

"Cheers." The Fighter Pilot smiled at the Heiress as she they clinked their shot glasses together.

Rose grunted at the shit-eating grin that her friend wore, "I hate you."

They downed their shots together and enjoyed the sweet burning sensation running through their bodies. For Nix the sensation felt something awfully close to relief.

The bass pounded deep within her chest, the atmosphere and the alcohol finally setting in. Nix found herself bobbing her head in time to the music, and soon enough her body began moving to the beat. She looked over at Rose, her experience as Captain of the Dance Team during her time at Atlas High began to show. Her hips sashayed alluring in time with the beat, her eyes closed as the Heiress was finally cutting loose. Amber eyes looked about the club as she caught sight of the others from their group, Coco and Velvet had no problems finding dance partners as Yatsuhashi and Fox were casually leaning against the bar as a group of women approached the two bachelors.

Time seemed to escape the Faunus as she was hypnotized by everything – the atmosphere, the music, the crowd of bodies that swayed along to the beat, the way Rose's whole body called to Nix, bringing her closer and closer to her. The bass line was loud in her ear – or was it the deafening beating of her own heart? Nix didn't know, and she didn't care anymore. Her hands found a resting place on either side of Rose. Soft hands placed themselves around the Faunus' neck.

At first they swayed, space remained in between them as a fun loving smirk was on both their faces. They were genuinely having a good time just dancing together, something they haven't done in what seemed to be ages as they weren't young teens anymore – they were adults now.

Someone trying to push his or her way through the crowded dance floor knocked Rose closer into Nix. She looked into those golden eyes that seemed to burn into her. They still danced in time to the music, Nix's hands roamed up and down her sides as Rose clutched at the rather muscular back of the Faunus.

Rose could feel Nix's hot breathe on her neck, she could feel the way her muscles would ripple with every beat of the deafening music, she could feel something that felt like gravity - except it wasn't pulling her down, but rather towards... _someone._

They were adults now. They weren't kids anymore. They were definitely adults now.

Neither of the two weren't sure what exactly had happened – all they could remember from that moment was how hot it had been.

How hot their first kiss had been.

* * *

'Well fuck.' Nix clutched her head at the pounding hangover as she rolled over in the guest bed at Schnee Manor.

She distinctly remembered what happened the night before. They kissed, but what happened afterwards…

Well Nix wasn't sure, she felt Rose pull away from the kiss… no it wasn't just a kiss, they made out on the fucking dance floor for what seemed to be like hours.

Rose had left the club.

Nix ran after her, of course, but Rose had already dived into the first cab she saw and went back to the Manor alone.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to understand what was going on through Rose's head, because the same exact thought were now running through Phoenix's head.

'Where do we go from here?' Nix sighed as she laid back in bed, 'We've been friends for so long… we've been teetering this line for years now… and now we've crossed it.'

The thoughts that Nix had tried to keep hidden were now unleashed, as if a dam had broken within her. Phoenix Xiao-Long Belladonna had always been unsure of what to do with these feelings, for the longest time she had been satisfied with brushing them aside and enjoying what she did have with Rose – the seemingly unbreakable friendship that would last throughout their life time.

But this 'unbreakable friendship' had been broken now by that blasted kiss.

"Fuck…" Nix muttered as a combination of her thoughts and hang over made her head pound even more.

Rose is her best friend, the one person she could count on the most in the world whenever she was feeling down, Nix hated seeing her sad and would always do her best to cheer Rose up should she ever need it. Nix's friendship with Rose was something she would never want to see gone or broken, she couldn't imagine a life without having Rose there as her best friend.

'But… as a lover…' The thought honestly scared Phoenix.

Lovers… obviously they loved, but they fight, they bicker, they get anxious, they get jealous… and often times they would fall apart should something not work out.

That's what scared Phoenix the most, what if they were doomed to fall apart?

"Fuck!" Nix cursed loudly.

In the separate wing of the Manor, Rose Schnee-Vasilias ran through similar thoughts as she clutched at the badge of silver wings. She ran her thumb across the silver wings.

"Nix…" She whispered, "What are we going to do?"

Neither of the two was sure of where to go from here. Do they risk what they have now for something more? What if it doesn't work out? Can they possibly go back to what they were before?

'No… we can't.' Rose thought to herself as the mid-Autumn sun began to shine through her window.

"I'm too scared to lose you, Rose." Phoenix swallowed hard as the lump in her throat only grew bigger.

Blake frowned as she over heard her daughter from the other side of the door. The some times doting mother wanted to check in on Nix as it was close to noon and neither her or Rose were seen.

One thing was certain, something had indeed happened between the two and Blake figured it was time to… intervene between the two thickheaded daughters. She sighed as she figured that Nix and Rose were even worse than how she and Yang were in college.

* * *

 **Side Story:**

" _Winning that ticket Rose was the best thing ever happened to me. It brought me to you Rose."_

" _Promise me that you will survive, no matter what happens, that you won't give up. Promise me now, and don't let go… Never let go."_

" _I'll never let go Jack, I won't ever let go."_

The sound of violins and a mystic voice echoed throughout Nix's senses.

Golden eyes snapped open from her slumber and darted about her dark living room in Vale, her excellent night vision caught sight of her Signal uniform jacket that hung on the wall by the front door. The familiar theme song of the epic romantic-disaster filled the living room as the DVD was stuck on the title screen.

"Mngh…" The bundle next to her shifted its weight on to the arm of the couch.

Nix smiled as she looked over the now Atlas High School Senior as she slept soundly, it was her choice to watch the 3-hour movie, and Nix would surely remember to tease her later about how she never saw the end of it as she fell asleep. Not that Nix was better off, she vaguely recalled the two star-crossed lovers floating in the freezing Atlantic.

She stretched as she saw that it was well passed midnight, she figured it was time to turn in and actually fall asleep on a bed this time. The Signal Freshman turned her attention to Rose Schnee-Vasilias who remained fast asleep. She almost felt guilty with the task of waking her up.

"Rose… Come on, time for bed." Phoenix touched her arm and shook it gently, "Come on, you'll be sore in the morning if you keep sleeping here."

"…I'll never let go." Rose mumbled, she moved closer to Phoenix as she began to cuddle with her arm.

Rose frowned, "Come on Rose." She shook her harder.

"…What?" Sleepy light blue eyes caught sight of Nix, she noticed the way she clung to the Faunus, "Oh, you're not Jack."

"No, I'm not." Nix grinned as she took back her arm, "Come on, let's go to bed."

"It's pretty late, isn't it?" She stretched, the shirt she wore raised ever so slightly and Nix caught sight of the well toned stomach – she was Captain of the Dance Team at Atlas after all – and very popular too. Phoenix took an interest in boxing and took part in Signal's club.

Phoenix looked away and made way to the light switch, as she knew that Rose couldn't see nearly as well in the dark as she could.

"Can we stay up a little more, I want to see the ending again." Rose asked.

Nix sighed, "This is literally the sixteenth time we've watched this, I'd rather sleep." She hadn't flipped the light on yet, but her remark fell on deaf ears as Rose used her Scroll to control the settings on the TV to play the movie from a certain iconic scene that included a fogged over car.

"Come on, this is my favorite movie." Rose motioned for the 14 year-old to sit down.

"I know…" Nix sighed in defeat as she sat down for the scene, "But why start here?"

"Because it's the… _climax of the film."_

"Sweet Dust, Ma has rubbed off on you." Nix groaned as she took her seat, "You better make this up to me tomorrow," She grumbled.

"We'll go to the fish market tomorrow and eat some fresh tuna there," Rose reasoned, she giggled when she saw Nix's ears twitch at the mention of the treat.

"…Fine." The boxer let out as the movie played, she wasn't too pleased with having to suffer another hour of the movie.

Rose smiled fondly at the young Faunus before running her hands over the blonde's soft ears. She continued playing with them until a low purr was heard, a soft weight was felt on her shoulder as Nix closed her eyes and enjoyed the hypnotizing sensation. Absent mindedly, Rose continued running her soft touch over those lynx ears, it was addicting to keep touching them.

As the RMS Titanic sunk into the dark waters and the doomed lovers clutched at each other in the freezing ocean, two teens fell asleep once more as they lay next to each other on the couch. Nix remained cuddled up on Rose's shoulder as the Heiress' arm was wrapped around the Faunus' shoulder.

Blake smiled at the sight as she heard the noises from the movie when she went to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Silently, she turned off the TV and placed a blanket over the two before returning to bed upstairs.

"…Never let go…" Nix muttered as the scent of peppermint filled her senses.

* * *

Well, another chapter down, two more to go... maybe three.

On a more personal note, what inspired me to write Nix and Rose is kind of based on some experiences I went through. I write a lot about the military because... well, I've got experiences with it. Though not all of it is angst and failed romances, but it does make for good stories.

Hopeless romantic meets the jaded soldier.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	4. Stay Safe

This chapter includes some hints of White Rose. One more chapter to go now, thanks for sticking with it.

* * *

"I think they kissed." Yang deducted as she looked outside where Nix stood on the patio. It had been two days since Nix and Rose had suddenly stopped hanging out with one another. The Xiao-Long Belladonna clan was to return to Vale tomorrow, as Nix would have to report back to her base.

Weiss raised a brow, since the two parents have noticed the obvious change of pace between their respective daughters; they came to a group decision to stay out of it for the immediate future. Blake and Neptune were ready to sit the two girls down at once and hash things out, but surprisingly Yang had been vehemently against the idea.

Even more surprisingly, Weiss agreed with Yang after hearing her reasoning.

" _It won't mean anything if they can't figure it out for themselves."_

The Schnee Dust Company CEO set her tea down, "What makes you think that?"

The detective closed her eyes as she went over the scenario in her head once again, "They were out at a club, they were drinking, and they both came home separately." Yang began as she looked back out to where Nix stood outside, her daughter had spent the past hour simply gazing up at the sky, "If they got into an argument, they would have made up by now – Nix isn't one to hold grudges, and neither is Rose. If it was because Nix had gotten into a fight at the club…." Yang trailed off as Blake glared at her, their daughter wasn't as much of a hothead as Yang… but she was still a hothead. Yang gave a guilty look to Blake before continuing, "If it was a fight, then Rose wouldn't have left Nix alone, they're too protective of each other. And really, they were drinking and at a club, annnnnnd they're both young adults – _who are single and ready to mingle_."

Blake whacked Yang over the head for the pun, "I don't think it's too far fetched to think they kissed."

"It's just a kiss, I don't understand why they need to get so worked up over it." Neptune shrugged as he listened to the two.

Yang sighed, "This is why Ruby kicked your ass back in college," A smirk was on her face as she saw the look on Neptune's face when he recalled the bruises that wouldn't heal for nearly 2 weeks.

"So it was an important kiss… Anyways, what I mean to say is that isn't the next step in their relationship the obvious one? Like… to start going out…" Neptune shuddered at the idea of his precious Rose dating, "I swear to Dust Yang, if Nix does anything-"

"Oh shush, we should really be worried about what Rose would do to Nix since she is _your_ daughter." Blake glared as she referred to Neptune's well-known flirtatious attitude from their college days.

"Alright, everyone back to your corners." Yang placed both her hands out at both parties, "I think what's weighing so heavily on the two of them is the uncertainty behind everything." Lilac eyes found amber ones as she reminisced on old times, "Hindsight is always 20/20, no one knows what's going to happen until it does." The detective sighed, "Their situation is kind of like how me and Blake were back at Beacon."

"Blake and I." The Faunus corrected as she smiled at her wife, "It really is like our situation back then, but I think for them… Their friendship with each other is far too precious. Like… I think they're both more afraid than anything else."

"Don't they see how we are though?" Weiss weighed in, "With how long we've been married now and how we're still in love with each other… at least on days where the other isn't being a complete dunce." Icy blue eyes glared at her husband as Neptune shrugged. "I mean, if they leave things be then they could lose this chance and even their friendship."

"And then Christmas together with you guys will be so weird!" Yang groaned, "I can't stand the idea of missing out on a Christmas banquet here just because those two love birds can't get their heads out of their assess and just kiss and make up."

"Yang, don't be so insensitive." Blake chastised, "Honestly, they're both just scared of losing something familiar and stable."

Weiss nodded her head as she took in the situation between Phoenix and Rose. She caught sight of the blond Faunus who had began to walk away from the patio and towards the gardens. She figured her own daughter was cooped up in her room just simply wallowing and wasting the day away.

If only the two could understand that they needed to grasp at love while they could, it wasn't always going to be there and it wasn't always going to be a guarantee.

If only there was a way to show them.

The Schnee matriarch sighed as she looked up at wedding portrait that hung in the living room.

Her wedding.

Weiss' eyes went wide as she recalled a certain wedding invitation with a certain Soldier's response on it.

Silently, a plan formulated in her head as she simply listened to what her husband and friends thought about Phoenix and Rose's situation.

* * *

Lieutenant X.L. Belladonna inhaled sharply, immediately after she exhaled under great strain. Her abdominal muscles worked over time to force the carbon dioxide from her lungs. Sharply she inhaled again before doing the same G-strain breathing technique.

Any time she pulled a quick turn in her nimble airship, she would always feel the force of gravity increase. She looked at the displays in her cockpit to see that was going 1.2 Mach and pulling roughly 5G's – or 5 times the usual gravitational force of the earth. To put simply, it felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest and it was increasingly much harder to breathe. If she didn't G-strain properly, she wouldn't be able to force the carbon dioxide from her lungs and would pass out from lack of fresh oxygen. The phenomenon was known as G-LOC, or G-induced Loss of Consciousness.

But Nix was better than that, she graduated at the top of her pilot training class and was known to have the physique to handle the strains of taking tight turns in an airship and pushing the machine to it's limits.

After letting off on the stick, her airship leveled off as the terrain was no longer overhead and the blue sky beneath her. On her heads-up display a triangle that usually indicated a target within engagement parameters blinked at her, a steady tone could be heard echoing through out the cockpit letting her know that the Dust missile was tracking on the intended target. Golden eyes narrowed as she had successfully maneuvered her airship behind her current 'enemy'. In an air war, it was fatal to let an adversary get on your six.

With ease, Nix it the pickle button and the simulated Dust missile was shot at her target. On the computer display in the cockpit it showed that the simulated missile shot impacted successfully.

" **Terminate. Set up Initial."**

The voice echoed through the radio as Nix smiled to herself as she managed to shoot down her training partner a third time in the row.

" **LIGHTHOUSE2, Ready."**

The radio call let Nix know that her partner had set up some 30 miles away in the sky and was ready.

"LIGHTHOUSE1, Ready." Nix called back on the radio.

" **Fights on."**

Using the buttons on her stick and throttle, Nix nimbly had her sensors set to scan the airspace in front of her to try and pick out where her 'enemy' was coming from. The computer displayed showed an airship track file approximately 27 miles off of the far left side of airship's nose.

A sharp bell was heard going off in her cockpit as her display blinked at her with an orange box over the airspace picture: "WARNING: SENSOR LOCK-ON DETECTED"

This let her know that her 'enemy' had her within engagement parameters, she looked up at her HUD to see if she could get a shot off first, but there was nothing confirming that she got a target lock. Phoenix cursed as she bit the inside of her cheek.

Swiftly, she rolled her airship inverted and began an aggressive bid to descend in altitude. She G-strained as the displays showed she was pulling close to 7G's with the aggressive bid. While descending she hit her counter-measure dispensing switch, if employed within proper parameters it could stop any Dust missile shot that was guiding on to her. After descending about 10,000 feet she leveled off the aircraft. The orange box began to blink a foreboding red; this let her know that her 'enemy' had taken a simulated Dust missile shot at her. The computer displayed that she had 5-second time to impact.

Without skipping a beat, she rolled her airship to the right while hitting the counter measure dispensing switch once more in hopes that the missile would bite off on the chaff she was dispensing from the back of her airship.

The computer display blinked in green as the red warning disappeared – this let her know that the shot was trashed and her defensive flying had paid off. A sweat dripped down Nix's brow, but she had no time to wipe it off as she commanded her sensors to scan the airspace for her target.

The target was now 3 miles off the left side of her nose and approximately 15,000 feet above her. Nix smiled triumphantly as she recognized the advantage she had. What was even more lethal than letting an adversary get behind you was to let an adversary get below you.

With her sharp eyes she spotted the 'enemy' airship against the blue sky background begin an aggressive maneuver to descend while trying to turn their airship around to point the nose of their airship at Nix. Simultaneously, Nix maneuvered her airship from flying straight and into a curve; she kept the nose of her airship pointed at her 'enemy'. Lieutenant X.L. Belladonna smirked as she recognized the advantageous geometry she was in. Her 'enemy' couldn't swing their nose around in time to try to get a missile off, while her airship was pointed well at the 'enemy'.

The reason why you would want the nose of your airship pointed at your enemy is simple – that's where your sensors were located, at the nose of the airship. If you wanted to shoot someone out of the sky, you needed to have the sensors of your airship pointed at them so that your airship could get a target lock. With a lot of skill, maneuvering, and cunning – a truly great Fighter Pilot could stay out of sensor range and close in for the kill.

Which is what Nix was in the process of doing as she successfully shot down her training partner a fourth time.

" **Dust dammit X.L.!"** A frustrated groan was heard over the radio.

"LIGHTHOUSE1, Comms check." Nix chastised over the radio, you only 'Comms check' another pilot if they didn't stick to the radio discipline – which is to keep things short, simple, and sweet with code words as to not over saturate the radio with useless noise. However, Nix wasn't trying to remind her training partner of radio discipline, but rather a 'Comms check' in a situation like this was more like rubbing salt in the wound.

" **I could give two shits about my radio discipline right now X.L."** Another frustrated groan, Nix chuckled with her radio mic off. **"LIGHTHOUSE2, Bingo fuel, request RTB."** The voice on the radio settled back into the habit, albeit the seething tone could still be heard.

Nix flipped her mic back on, **"LIGHTHOUSE1, Affirm RTB."** She flipped her mic off as she and her wingman began the 20-minute flight from the training airspace to base.

Phoenix smiled as she looked up at the blue sky that surrounded her; she missed flying her Type F-IV Airship in the wild skies. The adrenaline rush that came with pulling tight circles at super sonic speeds, the deafening beating of her heart as she skillfully maneuvered into advantageous positions to get a successful shot off, and the surge of pride she'd always feel whenever she beat her fellow pilots in a dog fight.

But the sky blue soon caused her to frown.

It reminded her of Rose, with her hair kissed by the very blue sky she currently flew in.

It had been a week since she left Atlas and returned to her base in Vale. The Air Base was located about an hour away from where the city of Vale stood, far enough away to not have to deal with her parents all the time, but close enough to drive home on the weekend when she felt a little homesick.

Nix entered her single bedroom; each room in the barracks was equipped with a small kitchenette and bathroom. Laundry facilities were communal on each floor, but the military members did their best to keep the communal facilities clean and in good order.

The flight suit she wore was damp with sweat on her back from when she was flying, all that adrenaline rush you get in the cockpit always made you sweaty. Nix ran a hand through her messy blond hair as she caught sight of the still taped up care package that Weiss and Neptune had sent her. The package arrived that day and she received a text from her Ma earlier in the week to let her know it was on the way.

Nix grabbed the pocketknife she had in her left flight suit pocket and proceeded to open the package.

There were her favorite treats and snacks all right there as well as some printed pictures of her time in Atlas. Nix smiled as she recognized the pictures from the night they all went out for wine.

She nearly missed a rather large envelope that sat at the bottom of the box.

Curiously, she picked up the envelope and carefully opened it up. There was a stack of letters in there, which confused her as they all appeared to have been opened. What first caught her attention was a single sheet of paper that looked much newer than the rest of the envelope's contents.

It was a handwritten note from Weiss.

 _Phoenix Xiao-Long Belladonna,_

 _I hope you enjoy the treats and snacks, there's a tuna flavored peanut packet in there that I wanted to share with you and Blake before you left, but it slipped my mind. Neptune thought it would be nice to send you some of the pictures we all took together when we went wine tasting._

 _I'm sure you're confused about the rest of the package's contents._

 _I want to let you know that it's no secret that something happened between you and Rose. You're both terrible when it comes to sulking – however, it's just a reminder to both your parents and myself of how we once were when we were your age._

 _Phoenix, please believe me when I say that I think I understand what you might be feeling. It's the uncertainty of any situation that scares people the most, but I don't think you should let the fear of uncertainty control you – because you might miss out on something truly wonderful._

 _There's a story involving your Aunt Ruby and myself. Your parents know it very well, and so does Neptune… however you and Rose don't know this story at all, mostly because there wasn't much reason to tell you._

 _However, I think now is the perfect time to at least tell you this story._

 _This story is about an Heiress going to college at Beacon and falling in love with a Soldier who was a part of Vale's Huntsmen._

 _I could spend hours writing about how I fell in love Ruby Rose and how we dated while she was deployed. I could write a novel about the remorse and regrets I had when we broke up. But I don't think I could ever put in words just how much I truly loved her and how I miss our times together._

 _Instead, I think it's better to show you._

 _I implore that you begin with the oldest dated letter I included and work your way from there._

 _My dearest hope is that you find some sort of answer to the predicament between yourself and Rose._

 _I don't want either of you missing out on something wonderful._

 _Best Regards,_

 _Weiss Schnee-Vasilias_

 _P.S._

 _Maybe you could tell Rose about this story, I'm sure she'd love to hear it from you._

"Holy shit! Aunt Weiss and Aunt Ruby dated?!" Nix's voice echoed throughout her empty room. Her eyes were wide in surprise, how could her family keep something like this a secret? Not that it had much to do with Phoenix, but it was still a big fucking secret to keep from your child, especially if you're going to raise your child telling stories about said Aunt.

Nix's thoughts spun, she was starting to see her deceased Aunt in such a different light. Before, Ruby Rose was like a superhero, selfless, brave, and a true protector of Remnant. Now she seemed to be… to be more human. The thought of such a hero dating Weiss back in their younger days….

"What the fuck happened back then?" Nix thought aloud as she gripped the stack of letters that Aunt Weiss had sent her. The stack was small and only contained about 7 or 8 letters, the dates were all spread out and Nix guessed that her cunning Aunt Weiss had more.

"Is this what was in that box?" She thought back to the metal container that she caught sight of while in Atlas.

Nix swallowed as she could only hope that these letter shed some light on the now shocking past.

 _August 22, 3051_

 _To Weiss,_

 _We're leaving for the Vacuo desert tonight. I wanted to start writing to you now because I'm not sure if I'll even have the means to send a letter to you. We decided to name the new base we're setting up 'Jericho'. Pyrrha was the one to come up with the name, we all agreed on it. I can't say where it's going to exactly be just yet, that bit is still kind of a secret since for now it's a Huntsmen only base. We're getting help from some of the Huntsmen in Mistral too, it's going to be difficult setting up our very first forward operating base, but we'll be fine._

 _We're not called the best for nothing._

 _But I am a little scared, this is going to be my first combat tour… and from the way things are with the Grimm, it's inevitable that we'll be called upon to do what we do best. I only hope that I can do my best for my team._

 _I miss you. A lot. It's been a month since I've kissed you, it's been approximately 2 hours and 42 minutes since we video chatted on our Scrolls. Like I said earlier, I think that might be the last time we'll chat on our Scrolls in a long time. I'm gonna miss the sound of your voice._

 _I've been thinking about our first time meeting a lot lately. I'm glad that you crack under pressure while playing beer pong. I'm glad that Yang dragged me to that party. And I'm glad that I found out that you like me too._

 _When I get back, we should do another trip to Mount Glenn, I loved watching the sunrise with you there._

 _I loved all the dates we went on._

 _And I love the fact that you are my first… I'm glad you are my first time, I couldn't think of anyone more perfect than you._

 _I'll do my best to keep safe, but I must also remind you of our motto that's on the coin I left you._

' _For Those I Love, I Will Sacrifice.'_

 _I'm a Huntress._

 _But I'm also your girlfriend; I'll do my best to keep up with my responsibility to be here for you._

 _Wait for me, Weiss. Those two weeks together weren't nearly enough; I want to give you even more of what I have to offer. I promise I'll make it up to you for the time you spend waiting._

 _From Ruby_

Nix remained silent as she soaked in the information. The next letter was dated a few weeks after this first.

 _September 8, 3051_

 _My dearest Ruby Rose,_

 _Of course I'll wait for you. I've never felt this way about any body before I met you. And I genuinely mean that. So in that matter, you are my first for that._

 _This gaudy thing you call a coin… it's been giving me a lot of piece of mind lately. I'll put my lips on it every now and then, thinking that you can somehow feel my kiss from those thousands of miles away._

 _I went with Yang and Blake to the drive-in movies yesterday. I didn't realize that was my first time there since you left. I cried a little bit, but I don't think Yang or Blake noticed – or at least they didn't bring attention to it. Take me back there when you come back, we'll steal Yang's truck again and put blankets in the back like we did last time._

 _I never realized how safe I could feel in someone's embrace._

 _I won't lie that it will be easy; I have to say that while walking through Beacon's courtyard and seeing all those couples walking around hand in hand… I felt so anxious._

 _I miss you too, dolt._

 _If you refuse to keep safe, then at least come back to me, please. We're like an unfinished book and I'm so frustrated that we seemed to be bookmarked on the best part of the story._

 _I will be thoroughly unhappy if we don't finish this story._

 _But chastising aside… I really care about you and I've been thinking about you every day and what seems to be every single minute._

 _I understand that you can't send letters often, but please write to me as if you can and send them to me all at once. That letter you sent me, I've re-ready probably a hundred times now. Every time I read it, I feel like you're just that much closer to me, and it gives me so much peace of mind._

 _I promise to write you constantly, I'm sure you'll find some comfort in my words as well._

 _Eagerly waiting for the day to kiss your lips once more,_

 _Weiss Schnee_

Nix nearly cried.

She could feel her heart sink with every word she read, as she already knew the inevitable end of this story – and that would be with Ruby Rose's death.

Despite the fact that these words were nearly 30 years old, they still beamed with the youthful romance of a young Heiress and Soldier. The hopefulness and wishful thinking made Nix want to go back in time and somehow change the course of events so that this love story could see a happy ending.

She could only imagine the heartbreak Weiss had gone through when Ruby first passed.

The next few letters were scattered over a course of 2 years.

A letter depicted a summary of Ruby saying those three sacred words to Weiss in such a casual manner.

 _I expected that when you were going to tell me you loved me, it was going to be in a romantic location by the beach. I didn't think you'd tell me that you love me at an airship dock when I went to go meet you there._

 _But it could not have been more perfect._

 _I love you, Ruby Rose._

The next discussed a familiar person – Neptune Vasilias, Nix chuckled as she read the colorful words Ruby used to describe him. It was very military in nature, blunt, to the point, and very profane.

 _I swear, if he does anything funny I will NOT hesitate to kick his ass all the way back to fucking Mistral._

 _I trust you Weiss, but I don't trust playboy over there. There's just something about him… I just don't like him, at all._

But the one that caught Nix off guard was one written from Weiss to Ruby.

It was a letter written after their break up.

 _January 23, 3054_

 _Ruby,_

 _Please write me back. The thing with Neptune was nothing. I swear it. Just write me back. I miss you and I love you._

 _I can't stand being without you._

 _I'm sorry I let it go that far, but I promise it was nothing._

 _I just need you._

 _Please, I love you._

 _Weiss_

There were smudges on the letter, tears no doubt.

Nix furrowed her brows together; there was only 3 more letters left. She felt like she was getting the abridged version of what happened between Weiss and Ruby, but Rose's mother did say that she could write a novel about what happened. The Faunus was curious and wanted to know more, she figured she would one day find out if she could convince Aunt Weiss to let her read the rest of the letters.

The next one wasn't a letter, but a wedding invitation. The Fighter Pilot raised a brow as she unfolded the invitation for Weiss and Neptune's wedding in the spring of 3056.

It wasn't until she turned it over to see the handwriting scrawled on the back.

 _My dearest Weiss,_

 _It's been a very long time since I've written to you, I think about those 24-hours together a lot._

 _That really should be me, but I'm not as young and hot-blooded as before. I understand the situation you're in; I understand that a lot of time has passed since we broke up. I regret hesitating, I regret not being there, I regret not truly following my heart, but I'll never regret being in your life. And I'll never regret staying in it._

 _I can't wait to see how beautiful you are in your wedding dress._

 _Ruby Rose_

'Is this what Aunt Weiss wants me to avoid?' Nix thought to herself as she looked down at the red paracord bracelet she had opted to leave on her desk as of late.

"No… Not Aunt Weiss… but Aunt Ruby…" The Faunus mumbled as she thumbed at the bracelet, "'I regret hesitating…. I regret not truly following my heart…'" Nix swallowed hard, her eyes felt hot.

"Don't hesitate and don't regret not following my heart… that's what you would tell me, isn't Aunt Ruby?" A choked whisper as something warm made it's way down the Fighter Pilot's cheek. "Is it really that simple?" A futile question

She looked over at the last two letters, they seemed worse for wear as it was obvious someone had opened them and read them several times.

 _September 30, 3056_

 _Ruby Rose,_

 _I've decided to take your advice – to arise and overcome any challenge smartly…and aggressively. Neptune is helping me out, but we're going to talk to the Board tomorrow and see through that Father is forced to step down from the company. Blake's book definitely helps a lot, the Board will be easier to persuade._

 _If all goes well, and once the dust settles from the predictable struggle Father will put up, I could be taking over this company within the year._

 _You're coming home soon, aren't you? You promised you'd be here for Christmas, I already told Yang that I'd set up a fine banquet to celebrate her becoming a Detective on Vale's Police Force, I figured I'll find the best dessert caterer to celebrate you coming back too._

 _Your contract is coming to an end soon, right? I remember you telling me about your commitment – if I did my math right, then it should be soon. I can help you find a job… if you'll let me. I know you're more than capable, but just know that I can help out too._

 _I'd be more than happy to help._

 _I thought about you the other day, specifically about the time you tried to impress me with your deep-sea swimming skills and almost nearly drowned. Good thing Yang was there to pull your blubbering ass back to shore. I was smiling for almost an hour straight just thinking about that._

 _Stay safe._

 _Weiss Schnee_

Nix smiled at the casual musings as she moved on to the last letter.

The date made her heart truly sink to depths she never knew was within her.

 _October 4, 3056_

 _My Dearest Weiss,_

 _I'm leaving for a mission, or rather I left for a mission._

 _I left this letter with a trusted confidant before I went out on our objective – I think you'll hear about it in the news, especially if we're successful. And I have no doubts what so ever that we were successful._

 _I volunteered for this one – we all volunteered for this one._

 _Do you remember how you would always tell me to 'Keep safe'? I try, but I also have to remind you that I would always quote 'For those I love, I will sacrifice'._

 _For you, I will sacrifice._

 _For my family, I will sacrifice._

 _For my Team I will sacrifice._

 _I remember the promise I made to you, to some how let you know if anything happened that you'd be one of the first to find out. I remember a lot of promises I made to you._

 _Just know that I will always be watching over you, that I'll always be in that soft place in your heart that you have reserved for just me. I've never forgotten all of our times together, and I hope that you won't forget me as you go on with your life. I have no doubt you're in good hands with Neptune by your side. Tell him to see things through properly._

 _On your wedding day, I thought you were the most beautiful one of them all. You always have been, and you always will be._

 _Weiss Schnee-Vasilias, I love you._

 _Forever yours,_

 _Ruby Rose_

It took a lot to make Nix cry.

The blond Faunus gripped the edge of the desk, as the letters were stacked in a neat pile.

And it hit her, the promises that Ruby made to Weiss, the pleas to stay safe the best she could. How those promises will now remained unfulfilled, those pleas not successful in their attempts to bring the Huntress back home safely. Phoenix cried even harder.

This story that involved Weiss and Ruby, both young and unsure, the hardships the two had to overcome just to try and stay together. The sacrifices they made as a couple, waiting months on ends for a lousy few weeks or even days together. But it was inspiring, how despite the odds they made it work.

And they fell in love.

A type of love that warmed Nix's heart as she could only imagine the type of bliss they experience. The high they must have felt when they kissed.

Then there was the regret for things left undone, things left unsaid for too long that it became too late, as Weiss would marry Neptune. And Ruby would give her life for the ultimate price to pay for the better of Remnant.

It wasn't fair.

It's not fair to Ruby or Weiss or Neptune or to anyone. There was just so much left undone that it just wasn't fair.

"It's not fair…." It dawned on Nix as she realized what she needed to do.

It had been at least an hour since Nix had decided to open up the care package and stumble upon these letters. With a flail, the Faunus attempted to locate her Scroll – she wasn't sure if it was on top of her bed, or if it was hiding somewhere on her desk that was currently covered by the contents of the care package.

She just had to tell Rose about the letters.

And not just the letters, but something else too.

A sudden knock on her barracks door got the Lieutenant's attention, briefly she suspended the task of trying to locate her blasted Scroll to see who was disturbing at 11 o'clock at night.

"What's up?" Nix greeted as she opened her door.

She didn't expect to see the Commander standing there, the pilot straightened out as the Colonel before her wore a serious expression.

"Lieutenant Phoenix X.L. Belladonna, get packed and ready to go." He was straight to the point as his military Scroll was going off the hook, he silenced the contraption before returning his attention to the fine Fighter Pilot in front of him.

"Colonel Fume, where am I going? Is this an exercise?" Nix questioned, they would often do snap drills like this to test one's readiness to go to battle should the need arise.

A shadow could be seen on the man's face, "Back to Jericho, there's an uprising going on, the illegal dust mining and heavy industry companies have decided to join forces. Long story short – the locals have gotten involved, we intervened to protect them and now Base Jericho is currently under attack. We're scrambling you and 5 others for immediate Close Air Support. Be ready to take off in approximately one hour."

"S-Sir! I just got back from-"

"Phoenix!" Colonel Fume interjected, "The situation there is dire, Mistral's airship forces were mitigated immediately… they lost at least 8 airships so far and are currently unable to launch any more airships from Base Jericho. The Base itself has had it's walls breached, but the Huntsmen stationed there are doing a good job of keeping it contained… but they can't keep it contained forever – they're out numbered and out gunned and without air support. You and the other 4 are my best and brightest, I need you there ASAP… I need you there with me."

Phoenix X.L. Belladonna snapped to the position of attention as she saluted her superior, "Heard, Understood, and Acknowledged."

The letters… Rose would have to wait – her duty called.

* * *

"LIGHTHOUSE3 to Jericho Tower, Status?" The Fighter Pilot sweated profusely, the seat in the Type F-IV had been home to her for the past 3 hours. The 6-ship of Type F-IV fighters were scrambled in a timely manner and travelled at hypersonic speeds of Mach 6, the absolute limit they could push their fighters without having them fall out of the sky, and cut the usual 10-hour flight into a fraction.

"Tower to LIGHTHOUSE3, we can land you guys, but be aware that they have-"

A red light went off in Nix's cockpit as the alert for an incoming rocket went off, quickly Nix pulled on the stick as her airship rolled to the side before she pulled up and ascended as fast as she could in altitude. From outside her cockpit, she could see the blast of the anti-airship Dust rocket that was just fired at her.

"LIGHTHOUSE3, SPIKE IVO Runway." Nix's voice was relatively calm despite the close encounter, she needed to make sure her wingmen and flight lead knew where the surface-to-air threats were located.

" **LIGHTHOUSE1, Set FLOOR to FL180. Reference Jericho."** The Flight Lead, Colonel Flume, called out over the radio, Nix complied as she set the computer in her airship to warn her when she got close to 18,000 feet in altitude. The anti-airship Dust rockets had a max altitude range of about 20,000 feet; as long as they flew at that altitude they could mitigate the threat by just flying higher when their airship sensors picked up the launch. The 'Reference Jericho' was to key in the rest of the flight that any cardinal directions would be given based off of where Base Jericho was.

" **LIGHTHOUSE1, SPIKE IVO NORTH Be advised, land 20 miles SOUTH when BINGO fuel."** The Flight Lead commanded over the radio, Nix and the others were prepared for the hostile environment. It was too dangerous to land anywhere near Jericho with the way it is now.

" **HUNTER to LIGHTHOUSE, Request CAS."** The new voice was heard through the radio comm, Nix could pick out the gunfire in the background. The Huntsmen on the ground were requesting the Close Air Support.

" **LIGHTHOUSE1, 2 with me. 3 and 4 Support HUNTER. 5 and 6 ANCHOR SOUTH by SOUTH-WEST."** The Flight Lead instructed as he split up the 6-ship. Nix was now in charge of the 2-ship that she had split off into.

"LIGHTHOUSE3, HUNTER go for CAS." Nix keyed on the mic.

" **Fucking finally… Will lase target, how many rockets do you have?"** The relieved voice questioned.

"LIGHTHOUSE Flight is 8 by Gun." Nix answered, she let them know that they came fully loaded out as each Type F-IV carried 8 rockets and had the gun ready should they need to do a strafing run. "Be advised we have about 30 minutes of fuel left." The Fighter Pilot eyed her gauges, usually the Type F-IV could fly for almost 9 hours straight with no refueling, but the 6-ship had flown high and fast to get to Base Jericho in time.

" **Don't worry, we'll get you guys WINCHESTER."** Nix smiled at the idea, it was always a good feeling to have your airship go 'WINCHESTER' – out of ordnance.

Despite the fact that Nix had never met the Huntsmen who directed her on the ground, they worked perfectly in tandem. The Fighter Pilot noticed the alert go off in her cockpit, as she would have to descend lower than 18,000 feet to employ her rockets fairly often. She let her wingman, LIGHTHOUSE4 do a couple of bombing runs too.

Nix and her wingman continued to fly circles over head, swooping down in altitude to drop rockets before ascending up high before an anti-airship rocket could hit them.

"LIGHTHOUSE3 to 1, 3 and 4 WINCHESTER." Nix was proud in the declaration as she looked outside her cockpit to see her wingman not too far off the side celebrating with a rock-on symbol.

Through radio communication with the Huntsmen on the ground, Nix knew that they were successful in pushing back the attackers from where they had penetrated the walls of the base.

" **LIGHTHOUSE1 to 3, Switch with 5 and 6."**

"Copy." Nix keyed back as she and LIGHTHOUSE4 were to swap places with LIGHTHOUSE5 and 6. The other two would cover the Close Air Support aspect of the operation now since they were fully loaded out with rockets.

" **S-SPIKE SOUTH!"**

The Type F-IV Nix was in displayed a 2-second time to impact.

The Faunus jerked hard on the stick and threw the throttle forward to ascend in altitude faster.

A deafening explosion, the nose of the airship no longer responded to the precise controls of the Fighter Pilot.

"M-Mayday, Mayday, LIGHTHOUSE3 is hit." Her voice was strangely calm as she managed to regain some control of the fighter. She managed to level out the airship as she turned her attention to the ejection handle.

"Mayday, Mayday! Ejection handle is jammed!" Phoenix was in a panic as she tried once more to eject from the airship that was rapidly losing altitude.

" **Nix! Aim for the South! Where you're going is a hot bed of those bastards!"** Colonel Flume, a man notorious for his radio discipline, shouted over the radio.

"I-I can't!" The blonde tried jerking the stick to get the flight controls to respond, but it was all for naught. The best she could do was try to land the wounded bird, she leveled out the airship to try and get the best landing approach she could. But she knew that she was coming in way too fast.

" **Nix!"**

Phoenix Xiao-Long Belladonna, 23-years old – closed her eyes tightly, the last thing she saw was the red paracord bracelet on her left wrist.

A white noise filled her senses.

* * *

She twitched as her nose scrunched at the contact of something very soft and ticklish.

"Hello?" A small voice called out, "Oh, there you go! Told you she'd come to." The figure turned to someone else in a white hood that stood off in the background.

"W-Where am I?" Phoenix looked around, it looked like Patch, except the cliff the stood on seemed massive and before them was simply acres of beautiful rolling hills and forests that framed it. A warm breeze blew through the trees and flowers; a bunch of flower petals floating through the breeze made it's way across Nix's vision.

"That's not important, what's important is that you're awake." Silver eyes met golden ones as they were full of mirth.

"Why was I sleeping?" Nix narrowed her eyes as she tried to think, "W-Wait… Base Jericho!" She flipped her head around for the familiar structure that stood in the Vacuo desert, "My airship!"

But the one thing she almost missed was standing right in front of her.

Ruby Rose.

"Aunt…. Ruby…" Nix's jaw went slack at the figure of her Aunt, who didn't look much older than herself, "Y-You're al-"

"Not alive." Ruby was quick to correct, the dark red hoodie got caught in the blowing wind.

Nix's Faunus' ears drooped, "I'm dead?" Her eyes wide, tears brimming as she fell to her knees. She had so much left to do….

"Not dead, either." Ruby crouched down to her niece, "You're in-between right now."

"What happens next? Does my life flash before my eyes now?" Golden eyes darted about as she was confused, "Am I hallucinating?" She looked to her Aunt.

Ruby merely shrugged, "That's for you to decide, but most importantly I have something to discuss with you." A mischievous glint could be seen in those silver eyes.

"About Aunt Weiss?" Nix questioned as she slowly got back on her feet, the Faunus took note that she was clad not in her flight suit, but jeans and a white shirt.

The Huntress wore a forlorn expression, "A little bit," A ghost of a smile was on Ruby's face, "She's done well with herself, I'm glad she's built such a wonderful life and to top it off she raised a beautiful daughter."

"Rose…" Nix felt the name roll off her tongue, "I… I can't go yet, I haven't told her!" She was frantic, "I want to go back!"

A reassuring hand was placed on Nix's shoulder, "Do you love her?" Ruby questioned.

"What do you mean? Of course I care for her." Phoenix was nearly offended by the question her Aunt prompted.

"No Nix," Ruby sighed as she glanced to the hooded white figure behind her, "Do you _love_ her." She stressed again as she looked the Faunus squarely in the eyes.

"I… I think I do."

"You think, or you're too afraid to admit it?" The Huntress pressed again, "Weiss was trying to tell you something with our letters."

Nix remained silent as those silver eyes bore into her.

"The same thing I'm going to tell you – don't be afraid." Ruby smiled..

"I'm not afraid-" Nix was defiant.

"Yes, you are, and that's okay. Everyone gets scared, but you can't be so scared that you can't act on what you truly feel." The Huntress looked out at the rolling hills, "I was scared, I was unsure – I wasn't honest with myself, with Weiss, until it was too late."

"When you died?" The Fighter Pilot asked.

"When she got married." The Soldier corrected, "I let her go, well not as a friend, but as a lover, I had to let her go. I will say that it took everything in me to not object to the marriage, but what stopped me was what I saw. I saw the way Neptune looked at Weiss on their wedding day and I just knew that I could trust him to do it, to take care of her as well as I could… if not a little better."

Phoenix stood side by side next to Ruby as the two looked at the beautiful scenery before them; the hills themselves were decorated in a lush green that seemed to roll on forever. "Ruby… I'm scared we can't go back if things don't work out."

"What's the reward if the risk isn't the same?" The Huntress smiled, "Things always change, people always change, relationships always change. What makes them work is whether or not you have to courage to face these changes and the strength to make what you want… last a lifetime." She faced the Fighter Pilot, the two stood eye to eye, "Don't let your insecurities get in the way of your happiness."

"That easy, huh…" Nix clenched her jaw as she looked up at her Aunt, "Hey… how did you and Weiss get back together." She was thinking to the note on the back of the wedding invitation.

Ruby let out a small cry at the question, "That's… personal." A small blush was on the girl's face, "I decided to be honest, and Weiss accepted my honesty… is what it boils down to." She coughed, "But back to my other question – Do you love Rose?"

Nix's eyes went wide at the straight forward look on Ruby's face, "I…" Memories of the two as children flashed through the Faunus' head, Rose's first heart break, Nix trying to deal with her first crush, sneaking out in the middle of the night whenever the other was over, taking Yang's prized motorcycle out on a surprise ride through town…. "I do." Her voice was full of conviction, as she stood tall at her answer.

Ruby proudly smiled at Nix.

"I ask that you love her then, promise me that you'll love her with all you heart."

"I promise."

The Soldier straightened out her back as she looked at the horizon and began to walk; with every step she took the scenery began to transform from the rolling hills to something sandy and burning hot. The dark red hoodie began to melt away to the familiar battle gear that was standard for all Huntsmen to wear; a dust rifle seemed to materialize in her hand. The Fighter Pilot's own casual garb tore away until she was back in her flight suit.

"Ruby!" The Fighter Pilot called out as they now stood in the middle of the desert.

"I'll keep you safe, Phoenix." The Soldier simply stated, "Just tell them… well, they already know." Silver eyes bore into her gold ones.

A deafening explosion distorted everything around the two.

In a daze, amber eyes tried to focus, but all she could see was red… not blood red, but it looked an awful lot like rose petals falling in the wind. Her whole body simply ached.

Move.

She had to move, and be quick about it.

There was no doubt that the enemy would close in on her crash-landed airship.

"…Nix!... Time… Go!" She couldn't tell if she was being pulled along or what, she had a pistol in hand that she must have remembered to grab from the cockpit.

How did she leave the cockpit?

Gunfire erupted all around, but it echoed in and out. The injured Faunus was struggling to stay conscious, her feet moved in some direction, but she wasn't coherent enough to see if it was towards base or what. She only knew that her instincts told her to keep going and not stop.

"Stay safe."

All Phoenix could remember was a tender smile, silver eyes, and a flash of red petals before ultimately falling unconscious.

* * *

GrnDrgnZrd - Thanks for your selfless service, hope all goes well for you. And thank you for the kind words in your reviews, they're definitely a big source of encouragement.

Figured I hurry up and finish the final edits on the last two chapters. Once again, one more chapter to go and a big thanks to everyone for sticking with the story so far, I really appreciate the reviews, views, and favorites since I know that this flavor of RWBY isn't exactly everyone's type haha.

As always, hope you enjoyed the read.

Cheers,

DevilRed


	5. Promises

Weiss Schnee-Vasilias walked down the sterile hallway for what seemed to be the hundredth time. It was alarming at how familiar she had become with the facility, but she had only been at Vale General Hospital since that morning.

Phoenix had been admitted to the facility for 2 weeks now.

She took note of the blonde detective that was sound asleep in the corner, bags were apparent under Yang's eyes and her usually vibrant blonde mane was subdued, the luscious locks falling uncharacteristically flat. Weiss grabbed a hold of the blanket in the detective's lap and laid it over her properly to make sure her life long friend wouldn't catch a cold. Yang wasn't a complete idiot after all.

She took note of the time on her scroll, visiting hours were supposed to be over in 15 minutes. Family members were permitted to stay behind.

But Rose was a different case.

"Hey…" Weiss shook her daughter gently who fell asleep at Phoenix's bedside, her precious daughter didn't stir and it came as no surprise to the Schnee business mogul – Rose flew out to Vale as soon as she caught wind of the news. Since then, the SDC heiress refused to come back home until Nix was better, she threw a tantrum the first few nights when the nurses wouldn't allow her to stay in the hospital. Coaxing from Blake had convinced Rose to comply with the requests.

"Come on, sweetie…" Her tone was gentle as she didn't want to stir Yang, the detective hadn't slept in her bed since Nix was admitted. Not that Rose wasn't better off, Weiss saw from a glance that her daughter had lost a bit of weight and her usual sharp glare was replaced by a far off look.

"...I want to stay…" Rose's voice was scratchy and raw, her eyes were bloodshot red as she looked up at her Mother, "In case Nix wakes up while I'm gone."

The Fighter Pilot fell into a coma after being recovered by the Huntsmen from Mistral.

Blake filled in Weiss on the incident; Phoenix was shot down after providing air support to Base Jericho. The Huntsmen were quick to rally up and make a push to where Nix had crash-landed. Blake mentioned that a personal letter came through the mail from the Mistral Huntsmen Commander detailing the unit's appreciating for Nix's heroic efforts – lauding the Fighter Pilot as the key reason they were able to re-secure Base Jericho in the wake of the Blood Dust Uprising – is what the media was coining it as. Extra military effort was being applied in Vacuo to put down the unified forces of the illegal Dust mining companies for good.

Last Weiss checked through her connections in military operations, the illegal Dust mining companies wouldn't stand a chance against a combined military campaign by all the Kingdoms of Remnant.

Apparently, Phoenix was found 30 yards from the wreckage of her airship with a Dust pistol in hand and a few dead enemies surrounded her. The Huntsmen were surprised at the tenacity of the Fighter Pilot. She had suffered blunt force trauma to the side of her face, took on 7 bullet wounds, and suffered from broken ribs, a fracture left leg…

Weiss took a look over at Phoenix, her left arm – or what was left of it, remained bandage. She saw that Nix would be left with a couple of scars on the left side of her face, the head bandages were removed a few days ago once the stiches healed up.

Rose frowned as she looked over her friend, "Mother… Nix won't be able to fly anymore…"

"She still can, she can get a cybernetic arm like General Ironwood who lost a few limbs during the Grimm War. She'll just have to go through a couple of trials before Vale's Air Division will let her back in an airship." The Schnee matriarch placed a hand on her daughter's back.

"Really?" Rose perked up, a glint of relief could be seen in her eyes, "She… she can still fly." A tear threatened to spill, but her hand quickly wiped it away. A flash of silver wings caught Weiss' eye as she saw that her daughter was holding on to the badge. "Thank… Thank Dust…" More tears began to spill as Rose tried in vain to wipe them away.

Swiftly, Weiss wrapped both her arms around her daughter and began to rub her back soothingly. It pained her to have her daughter cry in her own arms and it she felt powerless to try to do anything to help remedy the situation.

"Hey kiddo," Yang's tired voice softly echoed in the room, "Head back to our place before the nurses get mad again." A soft smile as her lilac eyes caught sight of ice blue ones that were filled with worry. "I'll keep watch of our little ace pilot here during the night." She glanced over at Phoenix who remained deathly still.

"Do you need anything?" Weiss asked as she motioned for Rose to go on ahead, the Schnee heiress complied hesitantly as she shot a parting glance to her childhood friend.

Yang waited for Rose to head down the hallway and out of earshot, "I'll be fine, Blake brought me dinner earlier… She seems fine and all, but I know she's broken up on the inside. Blake couldn't bear to be in here for long… not without breaking down."

"And you?" Weiss placed a reassuring hand on the detective's shoulder, "How broken up are you?"

Yang scoffed as she looked down at the floor, "The sight of Nix's heart beat is what's keeping me together right now… I can' t bear to be away from my daughter for long, what if something happens while I'm not paying attention?" She clenched her jaw, "Weiss…" A steadying breathe, "She really did take after Ruby, didn't she?"

The Schnee-Vasilias nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah… Ruby would have been proud."

"She would be, wouldn't she?" A silent shudder erupted throughout the blond detective.

Wordlessly, Weiss wrapped her arms around her dear friend as Yang clutched to her like a lifeline. Sobs racked the detective's entire body, the business mogul sniffed quietly as lone tears fell down both her eyes.

"I… I can't bury another family member. I don't have the strength to."

* * *

"Hey Snow Angel." Neptune's soft voice could be heard through the Scroll as Weiss video chatted her husband, "How's it going over there? Holding up okay?"

Weiss nodded, "I dropped off some food at the hospital for Rose and Yang, I've been keeping Blake company for the most part… But she just asked me to leave her be for a bit." A frown, after coming back from the hospital to the Xiao-Long Belladonna resident, Blake was quick to excuse herself.

"It's tough… I know…" The graying blue haired man sighed heavily, "Take as much time as you need, don't worry about the company, I'll take care of things while you're gone." A weary smile.

"Dear…. I'm sorry to thrust you into things alone." She apologized.

"Babe, don't worry about it. You have more important things to do, and one of those is to take care of Rose." He reassured, "Tell her I love her. I got to go soon, I've got a meeting coming up." A bitter smile graced Neptune's lips, "Say hi to Nix for me… and tell her to wake up soon because I hate seeing everyone like this."

"I will." Weiss smiled back at her husband, "I'll let you know what Nix says when she wakes up."

It now marked 3 weeks since Phoenix fell into her coma.

With that the conversation ended as Weiss switched her Scroll off. She flipped her head to the door of the guest room as she heard a rustling with the doorknob. The door gently opened to reveal the black haired Faunus as she wore a rather grim expression on her face.

"Hey," Weiss greeted as she motioned for Blake to come inside.

"Hey." Blake sighed as she took a seat on top of the neatly made bed, Weiss sat at the desk of the guest room. Judging from the red eyes that the writer sported, the Schnee business mogul guessed that she had been crying since their return from the hospital.

"Did you want to talk?" Weiss tried as she took a seat next to her friend.

The writer took a deep breathe, a much younger Blake would have shook her head, but she willed herself to open up to the woman beside her, "Weiss… what if Nix doesn't wake up? I… I overheard something the nurses were saying when we left."

"Which is what?" The white haired woman raised a brow at the revelation.

The room was so quiet that Weiss could hear the hard swallowing of Blake's throat, "I heard them say that with every day that passes the chances of her not waking up increases… and so does the possibility of her dying." Tears welled up in the Faunus' eyes.

Weiss was quick to throw her arms around her; wordlessly she rubbed her friend's back. With all her heart, she wanted to tell Blake that what the nurses said wasn't true and that they shouldn't have been gossiping like that… at least not so close that Blake's sensitive ears could pick up the hushed conversation.

But the Schnee mogul knew better than that. Instead, she looked for something with more impact… with more truth to them.

"Believe in your daughter, she's strong and she takes after the absolute best qualities of both her mothers." The words were gentle, but firm as Weiss knew it in her heart that Blake took comfort in them.

The Faunus pulled away as she tried to dry her tears, "Yeah… Nix really does."

* * *

"She loves her." Yang commented from outside Nix's hospital room, she peered in through the window as Rose once again fell asleep at the Faunus' bedside.

Blake looked at the pair, Weiss had left to go use the restroom not too long ago.

"I know." Amber eyes gazed at the two.

The blond detective sighed, "Come on Nix… come back to us…." She leaned her head against the glass as she furrowed her brows.

Blake bit her cheek as she held back tears – just the sight alone made her heart sink. Suddenly, a strong arm grabbed a hold of her as she felt herself getting pulled closer to her wife.

"C'mon Kitten, don't keep it in for too long." The comforting words were more than enough as the Faunus busted out into tears.

* * *

"Take me flying soon." Rose muttered, her white hair was put up in a messy bun, it had been 5 weeks now since Phoenix had been admitted into the hospital.

They had just gotten news that with the passing days, the chance of Nix waking up again was becoming slimmer and slimmer.

Rose held onto the Faunus' good hand, the red paracord bracelet had managed to stay intact during the incident. Yang had stopped coming to Nix's room everyday since the start of the fourth week, the Vale Police Department needed her back and the detective couldn't put off the call of duty.

Especially since both her sister and daughter have faithfully answered it's call on several occasions now.

"Phoenix…." Rose began as only the echo of the heart monitor could be heard in the otherwise quiet room, "Wake up, please… I need to tell you something. Something important."

Still no response from the sleeping Fighter Pilot.

The Heiress bit back a tear; she couldn't remember how many times she had cried since coming to Vale.

"Phoenix, I want to tell you that I'm sorry." The words finally came, but they might as well have fallen on deaf ears, "I'm sorry I ignored you after what happened in Atlas… I'm just… I was so confused." Her voice was a whisper, she swallowed hard as a lump formed in her throat, "I didn't know how to deal with what happened… I didn't know how to deal with… with my feelings." She paused as she looked for any sort of reaction from the Fighter Pilot.

Rose clutched on to Nix's hand, "Come back to me, please." She pleaded.

Only the heart monitor's steady beeping answered her pleas.

"I have to go back soon… but I don't want to leave you, not like this." She tried one more time as the lump grew, "I want to see you smiling at me, I want you to tell me that you're okay, I want you…. To tell me that…. That we'll be fine not matter what." Her face grew hot as the heart monitor continues it's steady pace.

"Please… Please don't leave me… don't leave me alone, not like this, not when I haven't told you… told you… " Rose Schnee-Vasilias lost her voice, for a second it became impossible to breathe, impossible to think, impossible to even move.

All she could do was stare forlornly at the patient in front of her.

A tear fell down her cheek, "Phoenix… I love you."

Rose sobbed into her sleeping childhood friend, "I love you so much, please don't leave me…. Please." The tears were uncontrollable as she clutched at the bedding, she could feel Nix's warmth, but it was nothing like it's usual comforting and protected feeling.

Phoenix felt hollow.

It only caused the girl to cry harder.

"You can't leave me." Rose's voice was muffled by the bedding, "You just can't… You're my best friend. You know almost everything about me. You know how to make me laugh, how to make me smile, how to get under my skin when you really want to." She recalled all their memories together while growing up, "You beat up the first boy to try to use me. You were there to help piece me together after my first break up. You were by my side when I got my diploma from Atlas University. You were always there."

The Heiress clutched on to the bedding harder, "If you leave me now, I don't know what I'll do…. I'm already struggling so hard without you here now."

Rose couldn't believe it, after spending their whole lives together, it would end like this. With a stupid Heiress realizing too late what she felt for the Fighter Pilot.

"I…. love… you…Rose."

Bloodshot dull blue eyes looked into hazy gold ones.

A small smile broke out on Phoenix's lips as Rose threw her arms around her and began to weep uncontrollably into Phoenix's chest.

She was finally back.

* * *

Phoenix Xiao-Long Belladonna stood proud in her dress blues, her flying wings pinned on the left side of her chest shone brilliantly in the sunset. She had just returned home with her parents after a ceremony in her honor. The Huntsmen team she supported was present, as was the rest of LIGHTHOUSE flight that had flown that fateful day. Speeches were given and medals were handed out, the now promoted Captain Phoenix X.L. Belladonna being the highlight of the show as she received top honors for her actions.

It had been nearly 6 months since Nix was shot down in the Vacuo desert, the late spring flower petals danced in the breeze. It had taken Nix a while to fully recover, the bullet wounds healed, but they left deep scars from where they had penetrated. Her left lynx ear was slightly torn and had healed back that way, but it didn't really cause any damage to her sensitive hearing. A long scar on the left side of her face seemed a lot softer in the glow of the sunset.

It was a beautiful day in Patch and the greenery showed an impressive view from a top the hill that she stood on.

She looked to the Mistral Huntsmen Coin from the Huntsmen Sergeant that she provided Close Air Support for. It bore the Mistral Huntsmen symbol on one side, while the other side contained a very familiar phrase.

'For Those I Love, I Will Sacrifice.'

"Have anything else to tell Ruby or Mom?" Yang asked as she looked down at the two headstones. Yang herself was clad in the Vale Police uniform – Phoenix could definitely see a younger Yang turning a fair amount of heads in that get up.

"Nothing else… but I think a thank you is in order." Phoenix smiled at the two headstones, "I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for them."

Yang was taken back, "What do you mean?"

"Ma, I wasn't sure if I should say anything before, but after today I think at least you should know… I think I met Aunt Ruby, and maybe Grandma Summer… I wasn't sure what happened or how I managed to do all that alone. I honestly don't know how I managed to make it 30 yards away from the wreckage and manage to defend myself from those guys."

Yang remained silent as she looked her daughter in the eyes, those lilac eyes gave away to everything that was going on through the detective's head. Slowly, a small smile grew on her lips as she said a silent thank you to her sister.

Nix stood tall, "I think Aunt Ruby protected me and got me out of my cockpit… She promised me that she would keep me safe."

"Did… did she say anything else to you?" Yang was skeptical, which was natural because she had developed a habit to not take everything at face value. However, her instincts told her that her daughter wasn't lying.

Nix nodded, "She did… but she said it wasn't anything you guys didn't already know." Amber eyes looked to the spring sky, the beautiful sunset was vibrant and it made Nix think.

A troubled look crossed the Fighter Pilot's face as she looked down at her left arm.

"You okay kiddo?" Yang reached out and rubbed her daughter's back.

"I'm doing alright," Phoenix looked down at her cybernetic limb for her left hand, she had spent a few weeks in rehab getting used after she had awoken from her coma, "Ma… I'm turning in my separation paperwork tomorrow." The truth finally came out.

Yang was surprised at the sudden declaration, "I thought you couldn't wait to get back into the cockpit?" The detective was also deeply relieved at Nix's statement, she secretly dreaded the day for when her unit would give her the final go ahead to get back into an airship.

Phoenix looked down at Ruby's headstone, she placed a hand on it, "Aunt Ruby made me promise to love someone with all my heart. And I think I truly do love them… and I don't want to put them through this stress of something like this happening again. I was lucky to walk away from this one mostly intact."

Both the blonds chuckled at the small joke.

"Are you gonna tell me who this someone is?" Yang raised a brow.

Phoenix looked away, "You already know, Ma…" A light blush formed on the Faunus' face.

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy." The detective teased, "I wanna hear you say it, especially after watching the two of you skirt around it for years now." A light punch was landed on Nix's shoulder.

Nix smiled at that, "Alright." Lilac eyes full of mirth looked into her daughter's gold ones, "Ma, I love Rose."

* * *

"Rose." Phoenix greeted as she stood at the bottom of the staircase in Schnee Manor, the red paracord bracelet could be seen around the Faunus' wrist.

"Phoenix." Rose returned as she smiled ear to ear at the sight of her.

Like they had done almost countless times before, Rose ran to Phoenix and the Faunus caught the Heiress easily. She was mindful not to squeeze to hard with her left cybernetic arm as Aunt Weiss had told Phoenix that the arm was pretty strong as it was the top of the line material. Rose wrapped her arms around Phoenix's neck as she brought her childhood friend in closer.

Softly, the two kissed.

Rose broke away first, "So… so it's true then? You're not in the military anymore?"

Phoenix shook her head, "I received full retirement benefits because of the incident. Honestly I would have been fine with just separating, but Colonel Fume wasn't going to have any of that." She smiled as she stood before Rose a veteran of Vale's military now. "I'm a regular civilian now."

"You're far from regular." Rose joyfully replied as she hugged Nix tighter.

The two leaned in again, their lips playfully brushing against each other to try and get the other one to cave in and kiss full on. It was a playful type of teasing.

A soft cough could be heard at the top of the staircase.

Weiss Schnee-Vasilias had her arms crossed with an icy stare fixed on the blonde Faunus.

"You're still sleeping in the guest room, Phoenix Xiao-Long." Weiss huff, she purposefully excluded Belladonna, which keyed Nix to know that her Aunt was dead serious.

"Y-Yes… of course." Nix suddenly found the ground much more interesting, she didn't understand how Ma could deal with that icy stare every time she did something idiotic around the Ice Queen.

"Anyway… I left the thing you requested in my study." Weiss began to descend the stairs, "Just don't do anything stupid to them." She looked Phoenix in the eyes, "Please, they're precious to me." Another serious statement from the white haired woman.

"I'll take care of them, I'm here to return these too." Phoenix held up the familiar letters, they were the same ones that she had received in a package all those months ago.

The Schnee matriarch nodded her head, "I'll be heading to the company now." She began to make her way out the foyer before stopping dead in her track, "Nix… I'm glad you're back."

The Faunus nodded her head, "I am too. Have a good day at work, and tell Uncle Neptune I said hello."

"I will, I'll see you both when we're home in the evening." Weiss smiled at the two as she left the Manor.

Phoenix quickly motioned Rose to follow her up the steps and into Weiss' study.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk about in person?" Rose questioned as they made way to the study.

A small smile was on Nix's face as she turned around to grab a hold of Rose's hand, "It's a story."

"What kind of story?" The Schnee-Vasilias Heiress questioned as they entered the room. Immediately she caught sight of the familiar metal box sitting on top of her mother's desk.

With a slight tug, Nix caught Rose in her arms. Softly, she ran her good hand up and down Rose's back as she leaned her forehead closer to her. A soft kiss was planted at the tip of Heiress' nose, a clever smile was seen on the Fighter Pilot.

"A story about a Heiress and a Soldier falling in love."

With that, the Faunus carefully grabbed the metal box from the desk and opened up to see the rest of the letters located in there.

* * *

" _Hey Weiss." A voice called the Schnee's attention to her._

 _Thoughtfully, Weiss ran her warm hands across the tone stomach of the Huntress next to her. Carefully letting her fingertips touch the crevice of those fine muscles before travelling upwards. She traced the valley of those exposed breasts before sliding two fingers across the collarbone._

 _Ruby shuddered at the touch, "That tickles."_

" _I know." Weiss smiled devilishly as she placed her hand back on to Ruby's side, she cuddled closer to her ex-girlfriend as they lay together basking in the after glow of their strenuous late night activities. A strong arm was wrapped around the Heiress' torso as Ruby ran her other hand through the luscious white curls. Weiss was mesmerized by the hypnotizing sensation, "What was it that you wanted to say?"_

 _Silver eyes looked into those striking diamond like ones, for a minute Ruby wanted to finally blurt out the words she had been holding on to since she made that spontaneous decision to fly to Atlas. To try to rebuild this burnt bridge with her ex-girlfriend. To try to reconnect with someone she was once head over heels with. To try and get back with the one she loved._

 _I want you back._

 _But the words never left, Ruby knew that it was too late. She had waited too long. She had been too unsure of herself._

 _Because after this 24-hour agreement of picking up where they last left off as a couple was over, Weiss Schnee would go back to reality._

 _And that reality was one with her being engaged to Neptune Vasilias._

" _Nothing. I just missed you." Ruby glanced at the time; they had about 5 hours left in their agreement._

 _Weiss leaned up to catch the Soldier's lips, "I missed you too."_

With a start, Weiss was interrupted from her memories.

Sighing, the business mogul turned her attention back to the paperwork she was working on before dozing off on an unintentional nap.

* * *

"Nix!" Rose shrieked as the ground was suddenly above her.

With expert control, Phoenix steered the aircraft to a right side up position.

"And that was a barrel roll." The pilot winked to her passenger that sat in the co-pilot seat next to her.

"Don't you dare do that again." Rose insisted as she managed to catch her breath. Despite her chastisement of the pilot, she did experience a certain thrill from the aerial maneuver.

Nix peered out at the broken moon that shone brilliantly in the dark velvet sky.

It was a beautiful night to be flying.

As promised, Nix had finally taken Rose flying in a T-II – which was an old trainer that was used for fighter pilots in the basic flying course before transitioning to the Type-F series of airships. The Atlas airport had the opportunity to rent out the trainers, with the proper qualifications and licenses.

Together, they flew around the city of Atlas.

Rose looked out her window as she caught sight of the snow-capped peaks of the mountains near the city, she saw them from a perspective she wouldn't be so quick to forget. The way the city shined in the veil of the night, the soft blue hum of the city lights echoed through out the dark sky.

Nix banked the airship into a turn, this gave the Heiress an excellent view of the buildings below them. She looked to the pilot and broke out in a smile at the sight. The Faunus had her head perched upwards as she kept both the view of the ground and the trajectory of the nose of the airship in view. The light in her eyes that danced with bliss, the permanent smirk that had remained there since they first took off, and then the red paracord bracelet around Nix's wrist.

A soft hand was placed over Nix's.

The former Fighter Pilot turned her gaze to the Heiress.

The two leaned in close, their lips brushing against each other.

The radio call over Nix's headset interrupted the two, it was telling them that they were expected to return to the airship dock in the next 15 minutes.

With a sigh, the pilot vectored them back towards the runway to land the borrowed bird.

The couple remained in silence as they walked out of the airport, they booked a hotel for the night across the street at Rose's insistence. They were to get ready into something more suitable for the five star restaurant dinner reservations.

Upon entering the hotel room to change, Nix immediately walked to the window to stare at the night sky above.

"You know, I almost forgot what it was like to be up there." She looked up at the moon.

The figure next to her placed a hand on her good arm, "I can see how you've fallen in love with flying."

Nix nodded, "I miss it."

"Do you regret getting out?" Rose questioned.

"I don't… especially after reading those letters together with you yesterday." A small smile.

"What makes you say that?" The older of the two raised a brow, it came as a bit of a shock at first when Nix told the story of Weiss and Ruby to her, but it quickly came to pass as the Fighter Pilot went on to describe the ethereal experience of meeting Ruby when her airship was shot down.

"Because… I think you're worth it, and I think Aunt Ruby would have done the same thing for Aunt Weiss if the circumstances were different." Phoenix replied.

All Rose could do was return the gesture, the two stayed like that in a comfortable silence. The city of Atlas sprawled out before them in their hotel room's floor to ceiling windows. They stayed on the top floor of the hotel as the city streets beneath them were barely made out.

At first, it was soft.

Rose could smell the scent of the forest and the light tinge of the soap that the Faunus used. Her hands cupped the pilot's cheek, slowly thumbing at the hard scar on Nix's face, and then steadily sliding into the blond short mane. A low purr could be felt from the Faunus' chest.

It only encouraged the two to close whatever distance was still left.

The heat slowly rose throughout Nix's body, both of her hands clutched Rose by her waist. She could smell the peppermint and lavender that radiated from the Heiress. She was addicted to how silky her long hair felt as she ran her hands through them. She didn't realize that she had begun to deepen kiss even more.

A nibble turned into sucking on someone's lower lip.

Playful kisses on the neck turned into bites.

By the time they pulled away, the two managed to realize they were sitting on the bed with Rose in the pilot's lap.

Nix panted with the girl in her arms, her forehead rested on the Heiress' as she struggled to calm down, "My heart… it's beating so fast." The Faunus' voice was ragged.

Rose wasn't better off herself as words escaped her, delicately she placed a hand to feel Nix's heartbeat.

And she felt it.

Phoenix placed a hand on top of Rose's, she felt her heartbeat pick up as she felt her self drowning in the snow like eyes. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

Rose Schnee-Vasilias looked absolutely stunning in the moonlight.

All she could do was pull Rose in for another kiss.

Dinner reservations were thrown into the wind as muffled moans and breathless pants echoed throughout the room.

All that was left were two lovers entangled with other as they slept soundly through the rest of the night.

* * *

 _For those I love, I will sacrifice. Huntress 683. Ruby Rose._

With an invitation in hand, an older Weiss Schnee-Vasilias approached the head stone. Around her neck was a worn down leather throng that was attached to a an equally worn down metal coin.

Patch's gentle early autumn breeze blew, it caught the ends of business mogul's hair as she caught a bit of it and tucked it behind her ear.

"They're getting married soon, Neptune complained that it was too soon, that they haven't been officially dating for no longer than a year. But I think it's about time." She turned her attention to the invitation in hand.

"They decided to have their wedding in May, the day of your birthday more specifically." Weiss explained as she looked down at the wedding invitation, "And, what's especially put Yang into a knot, Nix is going to take Rose's last name." A small chuckle.

"I told her she didn't need to do that, but she insisted. She said it was a good name to carry… Yang nearly threw a fit when Phoenix told her that. I'm glad was Blake was there, other wise it would have been a true Yang-like rampage." Another laugh.

Carefully, she took a seat on the lawn below her as she sat eye level with the head stone, "Yang and Rose both told me something interesting, they told me that Nix met you." She placed a hand on the head stone and began to trace the letters that made up Ruby's name. "I imagine you really did had a hand in bringing her home safely, didn't you?"

With her other hand she picked up the coin, she traced the etchings of it, she her fingertips had memorized the various groves and nicks that coin had in it. The now warm metal was brought to her lips as she planted a firm kiss on the round metal object.

"Thank you, for keeping her safe. Please…. Keep doing your best to keep both of them safe now." Weiss requested as she looked down at the head stone.

A lone rose petal landed right next to Weiss' hand, all she could do was smile at it.

* * *

"Rose!" A visibly older blond Faunus called out from the bottom of the stairs, they had purchased a home together in Vale after Rose opened up a new branch headquarters in the very city. "Let's go before it gets too crowded!"

Rose Schnee-Vasilias came down the stairs dressed and ready to go. Her wedding band gleamed in the sunlight.

"We'll get there before it even fills up, we still have almost 2 hours before the ceremony starts." Rose berated as she walked up to her wife of nearly 20 years.

Phoenix Schnee (She decided to omit the Vasilias part after much insistence from her Ma) winked at her spouse, "I don't want to be late for our kid's graduation."

"I just can't believe that those two are already 18…" Rose sighed as she followed Nix out the door.

"I'm excited that they're 18, see what kind of adventures they'll go on… maybe break a few hearts along the way." A cheeky grin as Rose punched her wife in the shoulder. The two were going to take a private airship to Patch and meet up with their twins at Signal High School. The twins stayed at the school's dormitory for the duration of their schooling.

It had been an eventful 18 years of raising their fraternal twins – Crimson and Summer Schnee.

"Phoenix."

"Yeah?" The Faunus looked down at her wife, the two were walking around the campus of Signal.

Rose merely leaned up and caught her lips before walking off with a smug look on her face.

"Hey!" Nix called out playfully as she caught up to the retreating white haired woman, "What was that for?" She held up Rose in her arms, Nix retained a lot of her strength as she didn't let her body's health fall to the way side after leaving the military.

Rose placed both her hands around Nix's neck, "I just felt like it." She placed her forehead on her wife's.

"Mother! Stop it!" Summer Schnee called out as she berated her parents, with golden eyes and snow-white hair, she was very reminiscent of Weiss in her younger years. Save for the Faunus ears that poked out of her long hair.

"You too, Mom. We're at school for Dust's sake." Crimson wasn't too far away from his twin sister.

Nix and Rose wasn't sure how, but Crimson inherited dark hair and steel grey eyes. The doctors explained that Nix was probably carrying the trait for dark hair since her Faunus ears were outlined in a black fur, but the silver eyes…. The doctors chalked it up to the impregnation procedure's rare quirks. Yang and Weiss were the first ones to take note of the silver eyes, both were taken back quiet a bit when Crimson opened his eyes for the first time.

Unlike his sister, Crimson didn't have any visible Faunus traits, other than his rather elongated canines.

"Hey! There are my two favorite grand kiddos!" A graying Yang appeared with open arms.

"Grandma Yang!" The two shouted together perfectly in sync. Not too far behind were Blake as well as Neptune and Weiss. The family had gotten together to watch Summer and Crimson's graduation take place.

The springtime weather was pleasant as usual, especially on Patch. Phoenix caught sight of the rose petals that floated in the wind.

All she could do was smile; surely a certain Soldier was proudly smiling down on her family. After all, the Fighter Pilot had done her best to uphold the promise she made to Ruby.

Which was to love Rose with all her heart.

* * *

Thank you for sticking with me until the end. I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope you few enjoyed it.

I will admit it was a little discouraging to continue with the story, so a big thank you to GrnDrgnzrd. Something about your words gave me the motivation to keep going and see this through to the end - which I'm very glad I did, this is probably one of my favorite stories to have written so far.

As for future projects... Well, check it out below. I'm still debating this one, I'll let it sit for a bit longer.

Hope you all enjoyed the read.

Cheers,

DevilRed

* * *

Excerpt from _**Gladiator - The Myth of the Reaper**_ :

The sands.

The arena.

The crowd.

The Mistrali Mediterranean heat that beated down on her.

The blood of her opponent that stained the ground beneath her.

Eyes that once burned like hot iron in the forge had grown cold into dull steel.

Reaper – the word began as a whisper.

Reaper – like wild fire it began to spread.

Reaper! – as if the flood gates of Mistral's dams had broken free into the very arena.

The Reaper looked about the Arena as the crowds cheered, they cheered for the slave. Off in the marble stands stood her Master – she loathed the man for whom she served. The man who ripped her from her sister, tore apart a once small peaceful travelling band that her friends belonged to, a man who deserved the same fate as the dark monsters who roamed the lands of Remnant.

Dressed in an elegant that made up his tunic, Roman Torchwick held his arms open wide as the crowd hailed him further, the man who owned the Champion of the Arena. With an exaggerated motion, he brought a finger to his lips – and the crowd complied.

Her gaze was as worn down as the iron gladius in her hand; it waited for the pending judgment that would befall on to her opponent.

His arm outstretched with his thumb held in a neutral position. Predictably, his hand turned downward – forever sealing her opponents fate.

Ruby Rose turned by the heel to her opponent with her sword at the ready, shield long forgotten in the sand beside her. The gladiator before her was on his knees, a blank look on his face as he looked her in the eyes.

"It was an honor." He muttered.

She returned the gesture with a quick and painless death.

One day this slave will once again taste freedom, but for now The Champion of Mistral's Arena remained stoic as the stadium erupted in a roar.


End file.
